Telemedicine consultations in pulmonology

Abstract

Introduction. There are no separate reports devoted to telemedicine consultations in pulmonology. Severe respiratory failure and distance of residence of many patients sometimes makes it impossible to transport them to specialized medical institutions. Telemedicine consultations in such cases make it much easier to receive medical care, conduct a Consilium or coordinate further treatment tactics at the patient’s place of residence. This article analyzes the results of telemedicine consultations of patients with pulmonary pathologies. Purpose. To evaluate the opportunities and main trends of providing medical care to pulmonary patients by means of telemedicine consultations. Materials and methods. We retrospectively analyzed the results of seven hundred one telemedicine consultation on pulmonary profile in the “doctor–doctor” format for the period of March–December, 2022 inclusive. The following parameters were analyzed: request type, request region, profile, diagnosis by ICD-10 classes, routing recommendations, and patient hospitalization. Results. The largest number of requests came from the Central (29.5%), Volga (22.5%) and Siberian (18%) Federal Districts. 302 cases were recommended for routing to federal centers, 57 patients were actually hospitalized. For interstitial lung diseases 266 (38%) telemedicine consultations were performed, pneumonias: 167 (24%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: 130 (19%), sarcoidosis: 33 (5%), which in total accounted for more than 85% of all telemedicine consultations performed. Research limitations: short analysis period (March–December 2022), low or no requests for telemedicine consultations from selected regions. Conclusion. The use of telemedicine consultations in pulmonology makes medical care more accessible to the population, which undoubtedly affects morbidity and mortality rates.