A Narrative Review of Telemedicine in Latin America during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted traditional health structures, posing new challenges in an unprecedented health crisis. Telemedicine services were implemented in countries with robust digital platforms to reduce hospital attendance while continuing to provide medical care. This st...

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Published inHealthcare (Basel) Vol. 10; no. 8; p. 1361
Main Authors Camacho-Leon, Genesis, Faytong-Haro, Marco, Carrera, Keila, Molero, Marlyn, Melean, Franhe, Reyes, Yuliana, Mautong, Hans, De La Hoz, Ivonne, Cherrez-Ojeda, Ivan
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 22.07.2022
MDPI
Subjects
access to health
Communication
Communications technology
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Disease transmission
Epidemics
Evaluation
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
Health care access
Health care policy
Health facilities
Influence
Latin America
Medical personnel
Pandemics
Physicians
Population
Public policy
Review
right to health
Rural areas
Telemedicine
Latin America
Venezuela
Cuba
Colombia
Argentina
Guatemala
Brazil
Honduras
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Summary:Background: The COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted traditional health structures, posing new challenges in an unprecedented health crisis. Telemedicine services were implemented in countries with robust digital platforms to reduce hospital attendance while continuing to provide medical care. This study aims to determine how telemedicine services have been used as a tool to ensure the right to health in Latin America during the pandemic. Materials and methods: We conducted a narrative review in which words such as telemedicine, COVID-19, Latin America, access, and right to health, were searched on scientific medical datasets such as PubMed and SciELO. Additionally, we reviewed legislation in the Latin American health domain regarding the administration and transmission of digital data. Results and conclusions: Several countries have used telemedicine to reduce the saturation of healthcare systems and increase patient access. Issues such as broadband access for low-income populations and adequate legal regulations for transmitting and storing confidential data must be addressed to improve telemedicine use in Latin America.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:2227-9032
2227-9032
DOI:10.3390/healthcare10081361