Telemedicine Gatekeeping Over 15,000 Patients from Specialist Consultation Waiting Lists: A Cost-Minimization Study
The RegulaSUS program demonstrates a remarkable economic impact by integrating evidence-based gatekeeping protocols with telemedicine infrastructure, effectively decreasing specialist demand. This intervention provides compelling evidence for the potential of telemedicine to optimize health care resource allocation, enhance care coordination, and improve system efficiency. The outcomes present a scalable, financially sustainable model for health system strengthening that merits consideration for broader implementation across Brazil's public health network and adaptation to comparable global health care contexts facing similar resource constraints.
Authors
- Roberto Nunes Umpierre (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9841-5543)
- Rudi Roman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2663-4314)
- Ana Paula Beck da Silva Etges (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6411-3480)
- Dimitris Rucks Varvaki Rados (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0819-5343)
- Natan Katz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0659-7747)
- Juliana Nunes Pfeil (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0677-0386)
- Erno Harzheim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8919-7916)
- Rita Mattiello (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0548-3342)
- Matheus Costa de Oliveira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4312-0411)
- Rodolfo Silva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6848-3385)
Institutions
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (BR)
- Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (BR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Telemedicine Reports
- Published
- 2025-01-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1177/26924366251388854
- Primary Topic
- Healthcare Policy and Management
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00