CARTA AL EDITOR
REVISTA DE LA FACULTAD DE MEDICINA HUMANA 2021 - Universidad Ricardo Palma
1. Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa. Arequipa-Perú.
a. Medical student.
*. Autor corresponsal
Mr. Editor:
We have read with great interest the article “A new coronavirus, a new disease: COVID-19” by
Pareja, et. al. where we observe that the repercussions bringing with pandemic, evidence the limited
experience we have (1). Telemedicine (TM) has become a technological tool to
provide medical care and a tool with great potential in settings where the infrastructure is intact and
doctors are available for care (2). In this way, exposure is minimized, taking
into account that number of infections occurred in hospitals was gargantuan (1).
Even before the arrival of COVID-19, in several countries and especially in the United States,
TM was used to bring palliative care to the homes of patients with chronic and stable diseases (3), associated with high satisfaction of patients and medical staff (4). Due to the current state of emergency, they are an essential tool to
support the clinical needs of the health system (5). There is a willingness of
patients to use TM, however, there are still barriers as well as the lack of digital literacy and the
unwillingness of doctors to adopt TM, as seen in Australia (6).
TM allows an exhaustive medical history to be carried out, but it also has limitations such as
physical examination and auxiliary exams (7). Physician must have the judgment
to determinate who needs swab testing, prioritizing the risk population. However, most countries lack a
regulatory framework to authorize, integrate and reimburse telemedicine services, even in emergency
situations (8).
Peru has not implemented a strategy or operational plan to guide its service providers to change
the system such as teleconsultations, nor a data exchange mechanism with decentralized epidemiological
surveillance.
COVID-19 is a call to adopt gradual changes in the TM implementation in our country, since it
shows an important utility in cases of disasters and emergencies. This challenge must be addressed and
collaborated to promote its safe and evidence-based use.
Authorship contributions: The authors participated in the generation, collection of
information, writing and final version of the manuscript.
Financing sources: The article has been funded by the authors.
Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Received: April 13, 2020
Approved: February 19, 2021
Correspondence:Dayana Ticona Tiña
Address: Calle Ayacucho 118, Cercado, Arequipa, Perú
Telephone: 952 374 000
E-mail: dticonat@unsa.edu.pe