Analysis of clinical indicators of teledentistry management for the elderly population during the covid-19 pandemic in chile
Análisis de indicadores clínicos del manejo de la teleodontología para la población adulta mayor durante la pandemia del COVID-19 en Chile.
Author
Ly, Patricio
Full text
https://revistas.udec.cl/index.php/journal_of_oral_research/article/view/752510.17126/joralres.2022.025
Abstract
Objective: To analyze clinical indicators of teledentistry management for the elderly population during the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile. Material and Methods: A pilot teledentistry project was developed for dental care of the elderly in 5 regions of Chile. The data obtained were recorded on the TEGO Platform to be subsequently selected and analyzed by the researchers in terms of clinical management indicators: degree of installed occupancy, degree of available occupation, degree of real occupation, interconsultation indicator per patient attended, urgencies according to reason for consultations, unpostponable prosthetic treatment according to reason for consultations, prevention in relation to granted benefits, prevention in relation to the patients cared for, and project absenteeism indicator. Results: The clinical management indicators obtained were as follows: The average degree of installed occupancy was 67%. The average degree of available occupancy was 78%, which accounts for the clinical time in which there are dental chairs and dentists willing to work. The average real occupancy degree was 86%. The average interconsultation indicator per patient observed was 25%. The indicator of urgencies according to the reason for the consultation was 95%, which indicates that the purpose of the study was fulfilled. The average unpostponable prosthetic treatment according to the reason for consultations was 5%. The prevention in relation to granted benefits reached 39%. Finally, the average indicator of absenteeism was 17%. Conclusion: The measurement of clinical management indicators contributes to meet the Chilean Ministry of Health Explicit Health Guarantees (GES), which are: Access, Timely Attention, Quality and Financial Protection. Objective: To recognize the usefulness of incorporating Three-Dimensional models of standardized humans in electronic health records, in the context of the development of a teledentistry web platform designed for the attention of the elderly population in COVID-19 pandemic context. Material and Methods: A teledentistry web platform designed with different modules for clinical records. Through a new user-computer interface with a standardized virtual 3D phantom, an extraoral physical examination, an intraoral examination section was modeled. A label-associated marker is allowed to record descriptive aspects of the findings. A 3D odontogram represents multiple patient’s conditions for each of the 32 dental positions. Results: From a total of 135 patients registered on the platform, 51 markers and 33 photographs associated with the surface of the virtual 3D phantoms were recorded. For the Location parameter: Hard palate 27.6%, inserted gingiva 15.7%, tongue 15.6%. For the Type of lesion parameter (according to the information entered in the pathology selector): unidentified 35.3%, sub-prosthetic stomatitis 23.5%, irritative fibroma 9.8%. Through the registration of the exact location of the finding in the virtual phantom by a 3D marker, the 3D modeling of the oral pathologies contributed to a better diagnosis, improving the remote communication between the attending dentist and specialists. Conclusion: The combination of the 3D modeling and anatomical-referencing in a teledentistry platform can become a powerful tool for the dental practice, due to their utility and specificity.