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Triage by telemedicine – Loughborough research directs healthcare policy in Brazil

Loughborough’s research into video consultations has helped shape healthcare policy in Brazil after COVID-19 put unsustainable pressure on hospitals and doctors’ surgeries during the pandemic.

As global infection rates rapidly increased in the early months of coronavirus, Brazilian officials implemented a temporary telemedicine system.

This enabled patients to receive medical assistance without visiting a doctor, which not only hastened the triage process, but also slowed the spread of infection – by keeping people away from hospitals and GP surgeries.

Telemedicine works by allowing patients to call a free hotline to schedule a same-day triage video appointment – either by phone or computer. The person is assessed and the appropriate action is taken, for example, treatment is offered on the spot, a referral to a hospital is made or an ambulance is sent.

Encouraged by early signs of success, the country’s healthcare policymakers were keen to understand the benefits, drawbacks and contrasting experiences of telemedicine use as they looked for possible longer-term use of the system.

So, in a joint project between the Federal University of Technology Paraná, in Curitiba, Brazil, and Loughborough University, alumnus Dr Higor Leite and Professor Ian Hodgkinson of Loughborough spent two years studying the initiative in collaboration with the Health Secretary of Curitiba to reveal critical areas for improvement and key successes, as expressed by patients, physicians, providers, and policymakers.

Prof Hodgkinson, of Loughborough’s School of Business and Economics, said: “Telemedicine was originally a short-term response to COVID-19 - there was no clear healthcare policy on its use for the long term.

“This is what we helped to develop by tracking telemedicine implementation and identifying areas for attention, for example, patient hardware capabilities, patient broadband access, data privacy and data protection, training of healthcare professionals, regulatory needs, insurance and liability.

“The research undertaken has helped to ensure telemedicine continues as a critical tool being used in healthcare today, widening access to health services for many.”

The study took place in the Curitiba Metropolitan area, which comprises 26 municipalities with a total population exceeding 3.2 million.

The instrumental role the collaborative research played has been recognised by the Health Secretary of the Curitiba Metropolitan area in a formal Letter of Appreciation to Prof Hodgkinson and his co-investigator Dr Leite for developing public policies that benefit the citizenry.

The research has been recently published in Public Management Review (open access): https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2021.2012375

Notes for editors

Press release reference number: 22/186

Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.

It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2022 QS World University Rankings – the sixth year running – and University of the Year for Sport by The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2022.

Loughborough is ranked 7th in The UK Complete University Guide 2023, and 10th in both the Guardian University League Table 2022 and the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022.

Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’, and in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 over 90% of its research was rated as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally-excellent’. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.

The Loughborough University London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.

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