The Ministry of Public Health (MSP) reported that As of March 1, face-to-face medical consultations will be mandatory in public and private providers across the country for general medicine, pediatrics and gynecology and that a month later they will resume all specialties.
Authorities reported on Tuesday that due to the decrease in daily cases of covid-19 and “the stabilized number of critically ill patients” a “Standardization plan” of care in health centers, with the objective resumption of face-to-face medical consultations at pre-pandemic levels within 120 days (four months).
This Wednesday, the ministry reported this Institutions must present the institutional plan before March 15 for the gradual restoration of preventive care and activity “Without prejudice to the reserves of health resources needed to continue the response to the covid-19 pandemic,” the statement said.
The first consultations that will resume the obligatory presence will be those of general medicine, pediatrics and gynecology from March 1, with at least three consultations per hour, which will be supplemented by telemedicine courts.
From 1 April, the mandatory nature of face-to-face consultations will be extended to the rest of the health care specialties with priority in the care of chronic non-communicable diseases.
On the other hand, the MSP indicates that, depending on the evolution of the pandemic, it is expected that by September, “accessibility and sanitary production indicators” are reached at levels comparable to those of September 2019.
Carlos Cardoso, president of the coordinator of collective healthcare institutions, said that this change affects the exceptional measures that have been implemented in the most critical departments regarding covid-19 cases, such as Montevideo, Canelones, Rocha, San José and Rivera. . .
“The rest of the departments were present in the regulations of June 2020, which established up to three patients per hour per person and two for telemedicine and then the need to have 25% of free beds in intensive and moderate care. let us return to a method that is already known in other departments, which is to provide capacity-based care that allows activities and allows time for vaccines to arrive, medical staff are vaccinated and immunization is complete, “he said in an interview. with Informal breakfasts.
Institutions hope that by the end of March health personnel will be vaccinated, which adds to the immunization of the population at risk due to age. “Reaching 50% of the prognosis, community-acquired contagion chains would decrease considerably. This would increase people’s participation in consultations and surgeries,” Cardoso said.
During the pandemic, between 12,000 and 14,000 operations were postponed give priority to beds in case of need for the care of patients with covid-19. Cardoso was confident that if the medical staff were vaccinated, they would be updated “in a few months.” In any case, he stressed that the postponement of operations was due not only to the decisions of the MSP, but also because “some people decided not to do them at that time.”
Regarding diagnostic studies, Cardoso explained that there was a 20% decrease in performance, adding that this is also due to personal decisions.
The Honorary Scientific Advisory Group (GACH) has warned that The consequences of the pandemic on pathologies not associated with covid-19 should be considered as a matter of urgency. A report from the group pointed out, for example, that in 2020 there will be an 80% reduction in the performance of PAP tests, 66% fewer mammograms, 73% fewer fecal occult blood tests and 28% fewer numbers of cancer patients services, compared to those performed during 2019.
In this regard, Cardoso commented that these concerns are shared in institutions. “Those who have not been studied will have priority in reprogramming.