USING TELEMEDICINE TO INCREASE ACCESS TO TREATMENT FOR TUBERCULOSIS PATIENTS

• Published in: International journal of infectious diseases 2023-05, Vol.130, p.S123-S123
• Main Authors: Guseva, V., Testov, V., Parolina, L., Otpushchennikova, O., Lizinfeld, I., Nazarova, L., Vasilyeva, I.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1201-9712
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2023.04.304

Telemedicine is an effective element of digital healthcare, providing access to highly qualified medical care of expert level. Russia still has a high burden of tuberculosis (TB) and the difficulty of providing quality medical care to TB patients in remote areas of the country. It is important to evaluate the possibilities of telemedicine to address these problems. Objective: to assess the results of the use of telemedicine for TB patients between 01/01/2019 to 07/31/22 in the National Medical Research Center of Phthisiopulmonology and Infectious Diseases (NMRC Phl). An analysis of 10,565 telemedicine consultation (TMC) patients with problems in achieving TB treatment effectiveness criteria from 01/01/2019 to 07/31/22 was carried out based on the “doctor-doctor” remote TMC algorithm and the selection of patients for hospitalization. 1,309, 2,815, 3,780, 2,661 TMC performed in 2019, 2020, 2021 and the first half of 2022, respectively. 3,269 patients were hospitalized at NMRC Phl, of which 2,093 (64%) had disseminated forms of TB with bilateral lesions, cavities of lungs, and severe tuberculosis. High-tech medical care was provided to 2,425 (74.8%) patients: Endobronchial valve installation - 733 (30.2%), surgical treatment on the lungs - 1,142 (47%), surgical treatment on the spine - 550 (22.6%) patients. The progressive increase in the need for telemedicine shows the need to expand the implementation of telemedicine as a digital health technology to provide high-tech medical care at the national level. Telemedicine in TB ensures the selection of patients for high-tech care in remote areas, which helps reduce the burden of tuberculosis.