Assis TG, Palhares DM, Alkmim MB, Marcolino MS. Teledermatology for primary care in remote areas in Brazil: J Telemed Telecare. 2013 Dec;19(8):494-5
The Telehealth Network of Minas Gerais (TNMG) is a public telehealth service supporting primary care practitioners in 660 of the 853 municipalities in the state of Minas Gerais, in the southeast of Brazil. A wide range of teleconsultations is provided. Store-and-forward teledermatology began in 2007. We conducted a retrospective study of the teleconsultations performed from the beginning of the service in April 2007 until August 2012. The teleconsultations were classified according to the professional who requested them and the municipality from which they were submitted. The number of municipalities covered by the TNMG increased from 82 in 2007 to 660 in 2012. A sample of teleconsultations from January to May 2010 was individually assessed to analyze the most frequent types of queries. User satisfaction was assessed by the following questions, which were available to users when they received the response to their teleconsultation: (1) ‘‘Did the teleconsultation avoid the patient’s referral?’’ (2) ‘‘Did the teleconsultation answer your question?’’ (3) ‘‘What is your level of satisfaction with the teleconsultation system?’’
