Registration of teleconsultations by higher-level professionals from Family Health teams in Brazil, 2020-2024
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This study analyzed the registration of teleconsultations by higher-level professionals from Family Health teams (eSF) in Primary Health Care (PHC) in Brazil, between 2020 and 2024, based on data from the SUS Procedure, Medication, and Orthotics, Prosthetics, and Special Materials Table Management System (SIGTAP), code 03.01.01.025-0. It is a descriptive and quantitative, using secondary data extracted from the Primary Health Care Information System (Sisab), with breakdowns by year, region, population size, capital cities, the Legal Amazon, and ranges of the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI). Data was processed using RStudio®. A total of 996,789 teleconsultations were recorded in 1,755 municipalities, with peak in 2021 (50.91%). The Southeast and South regions accounted for the majority of services mediated by Digital Communication and Information Technologies (DCIT). Municipalities with more than 500,000 inhabitants represented nearly half of the total, and 85.8% of the records came from areas with low or very low vulnerability. Nurses performed most of the teleconsultations. The analysis highlights regional and social inequalities in the distribution of the service but underscores the advancement of telehealth as a strategy in PHC.
Source: Ciência & Saúde Coletiva
Institution: Ministério da Saúde
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7166561230