Researchers from the Laboratory of Technological Innovation in Health at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (LAIS / UFRN) met this Tuesday morning (17) with representatives of the State Department of Public Health (Sesap / RN) and the Municipal Secretariats of cities in the Metropolitan Region of Natal. On the agenda, the implementation of technological solutions to be adopted to face the pandemic of the new coronavirus in RN.

Representatives of the municipalities of Natal, Parnamirim, São Gonçalo do Amarante and Extremoz were present at the meeting, as well as members of the Metropolitan Mobile Emergency Service (SAMU), and the Integrated Telehealth Center of the States of RN and Paraíba, an agency connected to LAIS. According to Professor Ricardo Valentim, coordinator of the Laboratory, this moment served to define strategies to be adopted as of next Monday (23), with technology solutions to bring more training to professionals and also information for civil society . “We were invited by Sesap / RN to help think about how to adapt technologies to the scenario created by the coronavirus pandemic. More than ever, health professionals and the population as a whole need quality information to be able to overcome this serious scenario in that public health is found on a global scale, “he said.

Among the referrals, actions were defined to be implemented as early as next Monday. The working group defined the implementation of direct communication channels with the population, which will be aligned in the coming days by health managers with the municipalities. The establishment of situation rooms for monitoring the pandemic situation was also defined, in addition to adequate training for public health professionals. Among the resources for this training are the Telehealth platform itself, in addition to the course “Emerging respiratory viruses, including COVID-19”, made available by LAIS, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Ministry of Health through the platform AVASUS. “With Telehealth, we are able to do all the work of teleorientation and remote regulation, integrating health professionals from different regions of RN. All under the supervision of a work team that will accompany this moment of crisis”, said Professor Higor Morais, coordinator of the Telessaúde Nucleus RN / PB.

For Elaine Vasconcelos, Health Secretary of Extremoz, the initiative to bring together the municipal, state and federal spheres – the latter through LAIS / UFRN – is extremely important for the prevention and care of the population. “This meeting today is extremely important to bring professionals to a scientific and technical discussion within the work process, as it helps to spread the flow of assistance and improve the service to the population. It was an enlightening moment”. The main point of the meeting was to define the need for a communication channel with the population and health professionals. This intersectoriality, this collective thinking, is very important. We are doing collective health, through this digital transformation made possible by innovation “, he concluded.