ACCESS TO THE UNIFIED HEALTH SYSTEM BY ELDERLY PEOPLE IN THE CITY OF SÃO PAULO THROUGH TELEMEDICINE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

• Autor(a) principal: Gomes, Carlos Henrique Natal
• Data de Publicação: 2024
• Outros Autores: Pellini, Alessandra Cristina Guedes
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Hygeia (Uberlândia)
• Texto Completo: https://seer.ufu.br/index.php/hygeia/article/view/70275
• topic: Acesso aos serviços de saúde; Estratégias de eSaúde; Idoso; Telemedicina; Sistema Único de Saúde; Health services accessibility; eHealth Strategies; Aged; Unified Health System; Telemedicine

OBJECTIVE: To identify access to the health system by the elderly population of the city of São Paulo through the use of technological tools during the covid-19 pandemic, and to produce indicators of Unified Health System utilization by this population in pre-pandemic and pandemic years. METHODS: Observational, ecological, and quantitative study using secondary data from the São Paulo Municipal Department of Health, ObservaSampa, and Fundação SEADE. Rates and proportions of teleconsultations were calculated by users’ administrative district of residence from March 2020 to December 2021. RESULTS: In the period of analysis, 2,934,506 medical teleconsultations for primary and specialized care were completed by the Unified Health System in the city of São Paulo, of which approximately 21% were performed by older adults. Rates of teleconsultations of older adults were concentrated in the South and Southeast regions of São Paulo, while proportionally, the highest concentration of procedures in the elderly population occurred in the Central and West regions of the municipality. CONCLUSION: This study identified and characterized the adherence to technological alternatives to support the care of older adults living in the city of São Paulo, as well as the maintenance of their connection to the health system, aiming to ensure the continuity of managing their health problems.