Teleconsultation enables follow-up of patients in the Bahiana Health

Bahiana Health continues to care for its patients through teleconsultation, which is a modality authorized by the Ministry of Health due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Teleservices are being made available to those patients who were already being cared for and need continuous monitoring, such as diabetic and geriatric patients. Consultations, whether private or through the SUS, are carried out through video calls or over the telephone, depending on the form previously arranged with the patient. Using apps also facilitates this process.

During telemonitoring, if it is necessary to issue a prescription for medication or test requests, the patient can send a carrier to pick up these requests on the spot. The professionals of Bahiana Health also have access to the patient's electronic medical record, which allows for more specific follow-up. The specialties that are providing teleconsultation services are: psychiatry, endocrinology, urology, angiology, otolaryngology, orthopedics, occupational therapy, speech therapy, nutrition, psychology and psychopedagogy. Scheduling of these follow-ups follows the usual way, by phone or WhatsApp.

It is also worth mentioning that even practical activities, such as those that take place in a pilates studio, in addition to physical therapy sessions, can be performed via video call. The physiotherapist and manager of the Physiotherapy Clinic Janaina Pitanga explains that, for these treatments, there is an agreement between the patient and the professional on the best way to carry out the sessions. Consultations take place through the aid of technological applications.

"It was necessary to get in touch with patients at home and at SUS to combine the best form of telepresence assistance", explains the speech therapist from Bahiana Health Ricardo Mota. The professional emphasizes the importance of this monitoring to promote the patient's health and points to a new care model. “We are in the process of adapting, but we believe that, soon, we will have even more effective models in the distance modality. In addition, it is possible to offer assistance in more distant places, as is the case in the interior of Bahia and in cities such as Valença and Gandu, which we are already serving”, adds the speech therapist.

For the psychopedagogist, Luciana Soares, who is part of the telemarketing team focused, more specifically, on children and adolescents, “even with distance monitoring, the professional can intervene in the problem objectively, as they will often with the help of the family, to identify the difficulties that are being faced by patients through strategies that they already have”. Luciana also states that it is possible to adjust behavior according to the new reality, having in mind an effective therapeutic plan that uses creativity in the use of online tools and technology. “It is possible to carry out significant and transformative work, with the cooperation of everyone and the necessary adjustments”, he declares.


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