TELEINTERCONSULTATION IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE. CLINICAL EFFECTIVENESSAND HEALTH CARE NETWORK INTEGRATION: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66104/3b52jz80Keywords:
Teleconsultation; E-consultation; Primary Health Care; Health Care Networks; Health systems integration; Referral and consultation.Abstract
Introduction: Teleinterconsultation, a telehealth modality enabling interprofessional communication between primary health care (PHC) professionals and specialists from other levels of care, has emerged as a relevant strategy to improve PHC resolvability, reduce avoidable referrals and strengthen health care network integration. Objective: To synthesize scientific evidence on the impact of teleinterconsultation on PHC effectiveness and health care network integration. Method: Integrative literature review searching PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, SciELO and VHL, covering publications from 2014 to 2025, with justified inclusion of seminal earlier studies. Results: Eleven studies were included and organized into six thematic categories. Evidence indicates that teleinterconsultation improves PHC resolvability, with avoidable referral reduction rates ranging from 38% to 71%, enhances care coordination and favours network integration. Infrastructure, professional training, regulatory and ethical barriers persist. Conclusion: Teleinterconsultation is an intervention with promising evidence of positive impact on PHC and health systems, with greater consistency for process outcomes; its implementation is recommended as part of comprehensive network-strengthening strategies, accompanied by investments in infrastructure, governance and systematic outcome evaluation.
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