Telemedicine consultation
It was among the protagonists of the pandemic, helping to avoid that health care default, especially during the ‘closure’ of the country. It’s telemedicine, especially applied to cardiology that following the Covid emergency has received a new impetus and will remain pivotal even after the pandemic is over. In fact, the use of telecardiology has tripled which has spread throughout the territory, so we frequently undergo an ECG or blood pressure monitoring even in pharmacies or health centers. However, they do not always turn out to be reliable: for this reason the experts of the Italian Society of Cardiology (SIC) they just signed the first consent document which establishes the minimum requirements for accurate and reliable telecardiology. From the characteristics of the diagnostic medical devices to the management of sensitive data, from the IT platforms that can be used to the drafting of reports, all the steps of the patient’s journey have been evaluated so that, from now on, they can also be received remotely, even in more remote centers, diagnoses and treatments that are always of high quality. With diagnostic tests, reports and checks managed in an adequate manner, which meet rigorous criteria, cardiological assistance can in fact be more widespread but at the same time more efficient.
The telecardiology criteria
“The pandemic has necessarily renewed interest in the provision of remote health care services, through telemedicine technologies – explains Ciro Indolfi, publication coordinator, SIC president and full professor of Cardiology at the Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro – However, these are instruments that must be managed correctly, otherwise there is the risk of not providing assistance that is truly quality: for example, if 12-lead electrocardiography is not used for the Holter exam, the ‘ photo ‘of cardiac activity over 24 hours is not faithful and can lead to incorrect clinical decisions. In recent months, there has been an increasing trend in some of the most requested cardiological services, such as Holter, electrocardiograms or blood pressure monitoring, which can be interpreted remotely. These diagnostic tests are also available in health centers and pharmacies, in the absence, however, of specific recommendations on technical standards and procedures that guarantee the quality of the services provided: for this reason we considered it necessary to draw up our position paper on telemedicine “.
The document
The document establishes the technical, instrumental and reporting requirements in telemedicine for resting electrocardiography, outpatient electrocardiographic monitoring according to Holter, outpatient blood pressure monitoring, indicating for example the type of medical device to be used, the training of healthcare personnel, how to manage the security of sensitive data, the type of IT platforms to be used and finally establishing criteria for the quality of the reporting. “With remote control, telemonitoring, medical teleconsultation and remote reporting, it is possible to enhance the territorial diagnostic offer in cardiology, especially reaching patients with cardiovascular diseases who live in rural areas or who live isolated due to the pandemic. – need Antonio Curcio, Associate Professor of Cardiology, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro – The provision of health and social health services enabled by telemedicine therefore contributes to ensuring equity in access to care in remote areas: with the new document, which identifies the criteria for reliable telemedicine, even pharmacies or small diagnostic centers will be able to interface with the structures with a high specialist volume, allowing high quality diagnosis and at the same time guaranteeing the capillarity of assistance, supporting the management of chronic conditions, favoring a better continuity of therapy”.