Lahoz Angelique Celina F, Dans Leonila F, Tan-Lim Carol Stephanie C, Tomas Angelica Cecilia V, Galingana Cara Lois T, Sanchez Josephine T, Aquino Maria Rhodora N, Amit Arianne Maever L, Rey Mia P, Panganiban Janelle Micaela S, Dans Antonio L
Department of Pediatrics, Philippine General Hospital, University of the Philippines Manila.
Department of Clinical Epidemiology, College of Medicine, University of the Philippines Manila.
Acta Med Philipp. 2024 Aug 30;58(15):39-45. doi: 10.47895/amp.vi0.8458. eCollection 2024.
Inequity in access to healthcare continues to be a problem in the Philippines. This was further aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Telemedicine is considered a potential strategy to address inequitable access to healthcare; however, it only gained popularity during the pandemic. This study aims to determine the pediatric conditions diagnosed through telemedicine consults and the platforms utilized by patients in the Philippine Primary Care Studies pilot sites during the pandemic.
This is a cross-sectional study of pediatric patients below 19 years of age who sought consult using telemedicine. Using the electronic medical records (EMR) system adapted by the Philippine Primary Care Studies in UP Health Service (UPHS) Quezon City, Metro Manila (urban site), Samal, Bataan (rural site), and Bulusan, Sorsogon (remote site), pediatric conditions diagnosed through telemedicine consults and the platforms utilized by patients from September 2021 to August 2022 were extracted and summarized. Data was summarized using descriptive statistics.
A total of 5,388 consults involving pediatric patients were recorded from September 2021 to August 2022, of which 1,562 (29.0%) were done through telemedicine. Majority of the telemedicine consults (67.5%, n=1,055) were in the rural site. There were 274 telemedicine consults (17.6%) in the remote site, and 233 (14.9%) in the urban site. The most common diagnosis was acute upper respiratory tract infection (30.8%). Other common conditions diagnosed through telemedicine were lower respiratory tract infections, skin infections, urinary tract infections, obesity, anxiety disorders, allergic rhinitis, conditions related to pregnancy, and myalgia. The most common platforms used by patients are video calls (20.2%, n=315) and voice calls (18.4%, n=287) across all three sites. However, the most common platform differed per area-video calls for the urban site (85.8%), live chat for the rural site (76.1%), and voice calls for the remote site (60.6%).
The most common condition diagnosed among pediatric patients consulting through telemedicine is upper respiratory tract infection. The most common platforms used to seek consult through telemedicine are live chat, video calls, and voice calls, with differences noted per site.
在菲律宾，获得医疗保健服务的不平等现象仍是一个问题。新冠疫情使这一问题进一步恶化。远程医疗被认为是解决医疗保健服务获取不平等问题的一种潜在策略；然而，它只是在疫情期间才开始流行。本研究旨在确定在疫情期间，菲律宾初级保健研究试点地区通过远程医疗咨询诊断出的儿科疾病以及患者使用的平台。
这是一项针对19岁以下寻求远程医疗咨询的儿科患者的横断面研究。利用菲律宾初级保健研究在马尼拉大都会奎松市的菲律宾大学健康服务中心（城市地区）、巴丹省萨马尔（农村地区）和索索贡省布卢桑（偏远地区）采用的电子病历（EMR）系统，提取并总结了2021年9月至2022年8月期间通过远程医疗咨询诊断出的儿科疾病以及患者使用的平台。数据采用描述性统计进行总结。
2021年9月至2022年8月期间，共记录了5388例涉及儿科患者的咨询，其中1562例（29.0%）是通过远程医疗进行的。大多数远程医疗咨询（67.5%，n = 1055）发生在农村地区。偏远地区有274例远程医疗咨询（17.6%），城市地区有233例（14.9%）。最常见的诊断是急性上呼吸道感染（30.8%）。通过远程医疗诊断出的其他常见疾病包括下呼吸道感染、皮肤感染、尿路感染、肥胖、焦虑症、过敏性鼻炎、与妊娠相关的疾病和肌痛。在所有三个地区，患者最常使用的平台是视频通话（20.2%，n = 315）和语音通话（18.4%，n = 287）。然而，每个地区最常用的平台有所不同——城市地区是视频通话（85.8%），农村地区是实时聊天（76.1%），偏远地区是语音通话（60.6%）。
通过远程医疗咨询的儿科患者中最常见的诊断疾病是上呼吸道感染。用于寻求远程医疗咨询的最常见平台是实时聊天、视频通话和语音通话，各地区存在差异。
