RESUMO
Introduction: Early diagnosis of skin cancer is crucial for improving prognosis. Teledermatology (TD) usage can optimize referrals and reduce waiting times. This study aims to evaluate waiting times at the critical referral nodes in teleinterconsultations that raised suspicion of skin malignancy in the Chilean TD platform of the public health care system. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional observational study that analyzed asynchronous teleinterconsultations and raised suspicion for skin malignancy following the teledermatologist evaluation was uploaded on the Chilean Ministry of Health's TD platform from January 1 to June 30, 2022. Results: Out of 20,522 teleinterconsultations, 1,853 raised suspicion of skin cancer. Among them, 1,119 patients were assessed by in-person examination, while 669 were still on the waiting list. Response times averaged 3.98 days for TD diagnostic suggestions. Overall referral times averaged 75.98 days from initial teleinterconsultation to the final specialist in-person evaluation. Waiting times showed significant differences among health care services and geographic regions. Discussion: In resource-limited settings, TD serves as a valuable tool to optimize referrals and manage the demand for oncologic dermatological consultation. The long waiting times emphasize the need for targeted interventions, especially in regions with longer delays. Conclusion: While TD has shown to be an effective tool in optimizing referrals, waiting times still exceed international recommendations, even in urban centers. The considerable heterogeneity in referral times within health care services and geographic regions highlights the necessity of establishing standardized referral protocols and explicit deadlines to fulfill teleinterconsultations that raise suspicion of skin malignancy in the Chilean public system.
RESUMO
Chile is a country where teledermatology has been growing exponentially since the implementation of a single national asynchronous teledermatology platform for the public system in December 2018. To ensure the quality of care in teledermatology systems, it is crucial to evaluate the fulfillment of basic specifiers such as ICD-Diagnosis, therapeutic suggestions, and diagnostic suggestions, among others. This article aims to evaluate the teledermatology system of the Chilean public health service by analyzing 243 randomly extracted consultations, representative of the 20,716 electronic consultations performed during 2020. Compliance with basic specifiers is evaluated. From these, fulfillment of core teledermatology functions, such as diagnostic and therapeutic suggestions, is observed in most consultations. There are statistically significant relationships between the patient's destination (primary health center [PHC] or face-to-face referral), pharmacological prescription, coverage of the drug prescribed by the public system, and the education received by the consulting physician. If the consultation is resolved in the PHC, there is a higher chance for pharmacological prescription, prescribing mostly drugs that are covered by the government. This is less likely to occur when patients are referred for face-to-face evaluation. A targeted evaluation of education, pharmacological prescriptions, and their applicability is key to improving the quality of teledermatology systems.
RESUMO
RESUMEN: La calidad de vida relacionada con salud oral permite evaluar como los problemas bucodentales pueden ser determinantes el estado de su salud, relaciones sociales, trabajo y bienestar. El objetivo del estudio es determinar la asociación entre la percepción de calidad de vida relacionada a salud oral y la autopercepción de la salud. Estudio transversal de datos de la Encuesta Nacional de Calidad de Vida y Salud (ENCAVI 2015-2016) del Ministerio de Salud, de personas mayores de 15 años de las 15 regiones de Chile. La calidad de vida relacionada con salud oral se midió a través de la versión abreviada del instrumento Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-7). La autopercepción de salud se midió con una pregunta única. Se ajustaron modelos de regresión logística para identificar la asociación en términos de Odds Ratio utilizando STATA v15.0. De 7041 encuestas el 50,8 % son mujeres, la media de edad fue de 42,3 años (d.t. 0,41), el 60,3 % tiene menos de 12 años de educación, el 36 % declara tener alguna enfermedad crónica. El 18,5 % percibe que sus problemas de salud oral impactan en su calidad de vida. Los factores que se asociaron significativamente con una mala percepción de calidad de vida relacionada con salud oral fueron mala autopercepción de salud general OR=4,84 (IC95 % 3,51; 6,67), edad (45-54 años) OR=1,98 (IC95 % 1,26;3,12) y uso frecuente de medicamentos (>3) OR=3,67 (IC95 % 2,17;6,). La calidad de vida relacionada con salud oral está asociada con la autopercepción en salud, es decir que una mala autopercepción de salud tiene probablemente más riesgo de tener una peor calidad de vida asociada a salud oral, siendo más fuerte a medida que avanza la edad y con el uso frecuente de medicamentos.
ABSTRACT: Quality of life related to oral health assessment oral problems affect an individual´s health, social relations, work and well-being. The objective of the study is to determine the association between the perception of the quality of life related with oral health and self-perception of health. A cross-sectional study of data from the National Survey of Quality of Life and Health (2015-2016) of the Ministry of Health was carried out, for people older than 15 years of age, reported from the 15 regions of Chile. Impact profile in oral health (OHIP-7) used to measure Quality of life related to oral health. The self-perception of health was measured with one question. Logistic regression models were adjusted to identify the association in terms of Odds Ratio using STATA v15.0. Out of 7041 surveys, 50.8 % were women, the average age was 42.3 years (d.s., 0.41), 60.3 % had less than 12 years of education, 36 % reported having a chronic disease. 18.5 % perceive that their oral health problems impact on their quality of life. Factors that are associated with poor perception of the quality of life related to oral health, were a poor self-perception of health OR = 4.84 (95 % CI 3.51, 6.67), age (45-54) years) OR = 1.98 (95 % CI 1.26, 3.12) and frequent use of medications (> 3) OR = 3.67 (95 % CI 2.17, 6,). In conclusion, quality of life related to oral health, is directly related to poor selfperception of health and becomes significantly worse with age, as well as with the frequent use of medications.