Table 1.

Advantages of telemedicine in the care of hypertensives in times of COVID-19.

Inherent to telemedicine

• Virtual and telephonic visits for management of “uncomplicated” cases are well accepted by patients, who avoid transportation costs and time in waiting rooms. • Primary care providers estimate televisits improve patient interaction and show rates compared to clinic/office visits reducing non show rates. • Providers and administrators report a greater efficiency by triaging patients to different levels of care givers, which is especially important in public health services. • Homogenizes the quality of health care. • Facilitates a timely access to individuals in distant locations. • Permits the incorporation of coordinated interventions in public health networks. • Selects and expedites references to the scarce resource of specialists.

Under the COVID-19 pandemia

• Benefits hypertensive patients, a high risk group in which isolation is recommended. • Reduces the stress of exposing himself and his family to viral transmition an important benefit in the face of the reactivity displayed by hypertensives. • Facilitates the access to the health team, medications and controls of comorbidities. • Involves the immediate family in the adhesion to pharmacological and nutritional personalized management. • Permits the continuity of usual care under confinement and social distancing. • Reduces community and hospital viral dissemination. • Limits conventional controls to the need of a physical exam and emergencies.

Postpandemia

• Promotes the creation of telehealth programs to face COVID-19 recurring waves, or a steady state of low transmission, and to manage the demand of non-COVID-19 patients. • Facilitates the transition from the “emergency model” to a sustainable state among health workers and patients, after reevaluating ethical, legal and financial aspects. • Poses the challenge of incorporating ehealth to the paradigm of presential health care. • Promotes creation of protocols, guidelines and quality standards for hypertension ecare. • Permits continuing patient education through websites and social networks to stimulate self-care and responsibility regarding healthy life styles changes.