Telehealth in Oral Medicine: report of an experience from public health care in a southern Brazilian state

ABSTRACT

Abstract This study aimed to describe the telediagnosis of oral lesions through a telehealth program offered in the State of Paraná, southern Brazil. This report included all oral medicine-related teleconsultations between January 2015 and December 2019. Primary care dentists from the public health services of the state were trained to use the Telessaúde Brasil Redes platform, a national telehealth program that provides telediagnostic support through teleconsultations with specialists. Clinical information and images of oral lesions were solicited to each teleconsultation request. An oral medicine specialist evaluated the cases and provided diagnostic hypotheses, management, and referral suggestions. Finally, dentists were invited to evaluate the services. A total of 162 cases were submitted by 44 dentists. The patient's main complaint was described in 98.8% of cases, while the duration/evolution and the type of lesions were 64.81% and 40.12%, respectively. No images were attached to 19 (11.70%) patients. The information sent was sufficient for diagnostic reasoning in 125 (77.16%) requests. The specialist considered 78 cases (48.1%) to be resolved in primary care. Among respondents (45.7%), dentists considered that the teleconsultation "totally attended" their needs in 92% of requests. The description of the telehealth platform usage in oral medicine in Paraná showed the need to improve the participation of primary care dentists and the quality of clinical information provided as barriers to be overcome, aiming for the best usage of the platform.