Authors

Clara Francisco-Fernández1, Montserrat Souto-Pereira2, Juan Manuel Vázquez-Lago3, Manuel Portela-Romero4

Position

1Enfermera. Área Sanitaria de Ourense. Servizo Galego de Saúde. Orense (España)2Enfermera. Área Sanitaria de Santiago de Compostela. Servizo Galego de Saúde. Santiago de Compostela, La Coruña (España)3Doctor en Medicina. Hospital da Barbanza. Servizo Galego de Saúde. Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago de Compostela (IDIS). Servizo Galego de Saúde. Santiago de Compostela, La Coruña (España)4Doctor en Medicina. Centro de Salud de Concepción Arenal. Área Sanitaria Santiago de Compostela. Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago de Compostela (IDIS). Servizo Galego de Saúde. Santiago de Compostela, La Coruña (España)

Contact address

Juan Manuel Vázquez Lago. Hospital de Barbanza (Ribeira). Servicio de Medicina Preventiva y Salud Pública. Rúa Salmón, s/n. 15996 Oleiros, A Coruña (E

Contact email: juan.manuel.vazquez.lago@sergas.es

Abstract

The objective of this article is to make public the experience of implementing the telemonitoring tool “TELEA” in the Primary Care (PC) setting for the management of COVID-19 cases in home isolation, as well as to describe its first month of implementation at the Santiago de Compostela and Barbanza Health Area (September 2020).
The TELEA tool was previously used for the follow-up of persons with chronic conditions, and was then adapted for the follow-up of COVID-19 cases. The service included an initial classification of patients after the automatic and immediate report of positive COVID diagnostic tests: asymptomatic, low risk, with risk factors or with warning signs. In the three first cases, patients were offered follow-up and monitoring through a digital platform where biometric data and respiratory symptoms were registered three times per day. These data were linked with the clinical record and monitored by the PC nurse. Alternatively, there was proactive follow-up by telephone by the nurse. If patients presented warning signs, they were referred to the hospital of reference.
Follow-up was conducted for 220 of the 229 adequate persons (78.6%; n= 173 through TELEA). The mean follow-up time was 13.8 days, higher for the patients included in TELEA than for those with follow-up by telephone (p< 0.01). During follow-up, 6.8% of patients were admitted to hospital; none of them died.
Remote follow-up with home telemonitoring based on the proactive management under protocol by the PC nurse allowed a clinically useful follow-up of patients with COVID-19 in home isolation.

Keywords:

telemonitoring; telenursing; telemedicine; COVID-19; Case Management; nurse’s role

Versión en Español

Título:

Seguimiento de pacientes COVID-19 en aislamiento domiciliario mediante telemonitorización desde Atención Primaria