O teleatendimento como estratégia de fortalecimento da atenção primária à saúde e a pandemia pela COVID-19: um relato de experiência do município de Belo Horizonte

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic imposed challenges for access and continuity in the provision of care to users in Primary Health Care (PHC). One of the strategies proposed by the city of Belo Horizonte was telehealth, which consists on the use of technological resources, such as audio-video care, for the provision of health services. The aim of this article is to present the experience of structuring teleservice in the PHC in Belo Horizonte, in the context of the pandemic. As a methodology, the experience report was used. Structuring processes and prominent aspects in the offer of this modality were presented. Two large groups that initially benefited from teleservice and telemonitoring were users with chronic conditions and suspected cases of COVID-19. Although challenges and aspects that need more attention, investment and readjustments have been identified, the results achieved reflect the complexity of health care and the practical perspectives in the organization and expansion of the services' responsiveness. It is noteworthy that telehealth represents benefits for care practice and for the management of health services.