[Impact of telediagnostics on hospitalizations due to cardiovascular diseases: an approach in municipalities of Bahia State, Brazil].

Hospitalization costs due to cardiovascular diseases are high. In 2019, for Bahia State, Brazil, alone, they exceeded BRL 153 million for the Brazilian Unified National Health System, surpassing the costs of cancer hospitalizations. This fact will show an upward trend with the increase in life expectancy in Brazil (7.3 years more by 2060). Introducing new technologies can mitigate the problem. This study analyzes the impact of telediagnostics in electrocardiogram on hospitalizations for cardiovascular diseases in 326 municipalities in Bahia from 2014 to 2020. Diff-in-diff estimator method was used for analysis of the periods before and after the implementation of telediagnostics in Bahia. Results show that the municipalities which introduced the new technology reduced cardiovascular diseases hospitalizations by 6 for each additional year. In the case of families benefiting from the Brazilian Income Transfer Program, the reduction was 3.26 hospitalizations, and 3.08 among municipalities with the specialized service. Hospitalization increase by 7.66 in the 30 to 59 age group and by 5.34 among men for each additional year. Results show a reduction of 1.15 hospitalizations for rheumatologic heart diseases and 1.39 among diabetic people. In terms of ethnicity/color, underreporting was identified in the conditions studied, resulting in more severe prognoses for blacks. Telediagnostics was effective in reducing this inequality by expanding access and reducing hospitalizations, playing a crucial role in public health and impacting mortality reduction. The theme, therefore, deserves further studies with different samples and sample periods.