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SNS 24 Line launches new teleconsultation service

The teleconsultation service is intended for users who meet the clinical conditions for remote medical care, after screening carried out by the service, the Ministry of Health’s Shared Services (SPMS) announced today.

The new SNS 24 referral service (808 24 24 24) launched on Tuesday and will be in a pilot phase for three months, with the aim of “reinforcing access to health care and optimizing resources of the National Health Service (SNS)”, said the SPMS in a statement.

“After screening and clinical assessment carried out by the healthcare professional from Linha SNS 24, the user may be referred to Teleconsulta Linha SNS 24. It is the healthcare professional who makes this referral. It does not include monitoring of chronic diseases, medication renewal or assessment of test results”, he stresses.

According to the SPMS, the video call teleconsultation is carried out through an online transmission platform (streaming), which can be accessed via the SNS 24 Portal, using the link that the user received via SMS, or via the SNS 24 App, if the mobile application is installed.

“This new referral service is carried out via video call by doctors specializing in general and family medicine, with access to integrated information systems, allowing them to make a medical diagnosis and, if necessary, prescribe therapy, as well as establish a health care plan for the user”, it says.

To carry out the teleconsultation, the user needs access to a mobile phone and a device with a camera, microphone and internet connection, and must also ensure that they are in a quiet environment, without external interference, to preserve the privacy of the consultation.

During the consultation, it is ensured that the doctor may determine the need for face-to-face care, if the symptoms or severity of the patient’s condition require it.

“Without any costs to the user, the Teleconsultation Linha SNS 24 will make it possible, in certain clinical situations, to avoid trips to face-to-face health services, maintaining the convenience, efficiency and safety of a medical consultation. It also allows the optimization of hospital and health center resources”, highlights the SPMS.

The SNS 24 Line Teleconsultation is integrated into the SNS and all consultations will be available in the user’s health record history, with the clinical report being shared with the user at the end of the consultation.

Meeting at Infarmed concerning evolution of Covid-19 -Live updates – 23 /03/ 2021

Today, another meeting is taking place at Infarmed, in which the Government and political figures meet with experts to analyze the epidemiological situation in Portugal.

At Infarmed, in Lisbon, from 10 am, as has been happening since February, only the Minister of Health, Marta Temido, and most epidemiologists will be present.

The remaining participants, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, António Costa and Ferro Rodrigues, party representatives, members of the Council of State and social partners, will follow the meeting by videoconference.

This week the Assembly of the Republic is expected to debate and vote on the draft presidential decree for the renewal of the state of emergency for a new period of 15 days, with effect from April 1 and which will cover the Easter period.

The session begins with a presentation by André Peralta Santos, from the Directorate-General for Health, on the epidemiological situation , following the perspective of the evolution of the incidence and transmissibility of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, in charge of Baltazar Nunes and Ricardo Mexia, from the National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA) .

João Paulo Gomes, also from INSA, will update the virus variants in the country, with Henrique de Barros, from the Public Health Institute of the University of Porto, giving a presentation on a year of learning from covid-19 in Portugal .

The meeting continues with the presentation of the social perceptions of the pandemic in the country, in charge of Carla Nunes, from the National School of Public Health of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and with the status of vaccination by the coordinator of the vice-admiral task force Henrique Gouveia e Melo .

The meeting starts 10.08 hrs

André Santos Peralta, the DGS, says there was a “downward trend of maintaining” the incidence of the virus, with an average of 79 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. However, in Greater Lisbon, “there are already some municipalities” with a growing trend. The active population became the population with the highest incidence, but there was a “very expressive” decrease in hospitalizations in the infirmary and ICU.

The active population became the population with the highest incidence, but there was a “very expressive” decrease in hospitalizations in the infirmary and ICU. “in a scenario of great incidence, only the population from 40 to 60 is enough to exceed the indicator of 245 beds of hospitalizations in ICU”. That is, “To be completely safe, the age group to be vaccinated will have to go up to these ages”.

Lisbon and Tagus Valley has the highest incidence (more cases per 100 thousand inhabitants every 14 days).

Regarding hospitalizations, there is a maintenance of the decline in the +60 group. In the ICUs, there is a “very significant drop” in the group of 50, 60 and 70 years old.

As for the variants, that of the United Kingdom increased, reaching 73% in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo and above 60% in the North.

The testing rate is “quite considerable” and the 4% positive ceiling is only found “in some municipalities”. There has been a greater speed in laboratory notification, revealed the expert.

English variant already represents more than 70% of the cases in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region. “There has been an increase”

A new fact about lethality: “In the week of March 1st to 7th, there was a decrease in lethality in the more than 80 years,” he says.

Regarding the virus variants, especially in the United Kingdom, there was an increase, with a prevalence of new variants in the order of 73.3% in the Lisbon region, and 60% / 65% in the North and Center, and in the rest of the country the estimate is more uncertain but it will be around 30% in the Alentejo and 70% in the Algarve.

People who leave home are the most difficult to avoid visiting family and friends

LILIANA VALENTE

There are some measures that are easier to take, such as wearing a mask, but others that are more difficult, such as keeping your distance or teleworking. However, there were “critical indicators” that were analyzed such as “avoiding visiting family or friends” and “staying at home”
In these two indicators, there were 36.9% of people who admitted that it was difficult or very difficult not to visit family or friends and 35.2% to stay at home.
In a finer analysis, Carla Nunes says that “it is the people who naturally leave home, the ones who most report having more difficulty in avoiding visiting family members with friends”
Carla Nunes, from the National School of Public Health, presents the barometer data on the various public health indicators and notes that there are “slight” changes both in behaviour and in the perception of the global health status.
“46.3% of people saying they had reasonable, bad or very bad or overall health status” and “1 in 5 of people – felt agitated, anxious or sad” in the past few days.
In addition, says the professor at the National School of Public Health, there was a “slight increase in worse behaviors”.
Vaccinations

The coordinator of the vaccination plan against covid-19, Henrique Gouveia e Melo, revealed that, in April, “about 1.8 million vaccines” will arrive in Portugal. The 70% vaccinees are still expected “by the end of the summer” and, in the second quarter, the number of inoculations will reach between 95 thousand and 100 thousand per day.
1.8 million vaccines have already arrived in the country, 95,000 of which went to the archipelagos. Until Saturday 1.3 million vaccines had been administered and, this week, another 177 thousand will be administered.

SNS 24 Line launches new teleconsultation service

People who leave home are the most difficult to avoid visiting family and friends

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