Tarumã case study: Telemedicine and Artificial Intelligence applied for reducing Cardiovascular Diseases mortality and Health Cost Optimization

Abstract

Background: Telemedicine supported by Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been an ally in the fight against cardiovascular disease. Tarumã, a municipality located in São Paulo, has been using these kinds of techniques as part of a project to decrease mortality from chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Objective: This study aimed to analyze the results obtained after one year of implementation of telemedicine and AI in cardiology in the city of Tarumã. Methods: All the data was supplied by the companies “iSalut” and “Portal Telemedicina”, the Municipal Health Department, the health surveillance department and the company 4R Municipality Software Advisory Service. To verify the significance of data, an ANOVA analysis was carried out for non-parametric data. secondary data have been also related to demographic indicators and healthy care on national basis. Results: As a result, there was a decrease of 21% in premature deaths from cardiovascular diseases and of 25% in premature deaths from circulatory diseases. In addition, between January and August 2020, the number of deaths from CNCD dropped by 45% when compared to the same period in 2019. By relating the previous years, the ANOVA analysis showed a significance F(4,113)=14, 30 (p = 0.001), and the greatest difference was regarding the circulatory system diseases. Besides, the average cost per consultation decreased 60% and the reduction in the number of trips per patient represented a saving of R$5,300.00 in fuel expenses. Conclusion: It can be concluded that in addition to enhancing the patient care by health services, telemedicine reduced the revenue related to health expenses and optimized the use of resources by the municipality.