Executive Summary – Guideline on Telecardiology in the Care of Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome and Other Cardiac Diseases

Basic concepts

In a health system geographically distributed like the Brazilian system, in which Basic Health Units (Unidades Básicas de Saúde, UBSs), Emergency Care Units (Unidades de Pronto Atendimento, UPAs), secondary hospitals, and ambulances are scattered throughout the country (often in remote locations), and specialized centers are located in advanced care units in large cities (such as tertiary hospitals), telemedicine offers the opportunity to improve the treatment of emergencies. The clinical ability of specialists in tertiary hospitals may be used to improve the care in Remote Care Units (Unidades Remotas de Atendimento, URAs), offering support for early diagnosis and therapy guidance for non‑specialist medical practitioners providing medical care to patients in URAs^,.

Communication channels in telemedicine include telephone lines for voice communication and connection to the internet, and for transmission of test results, ECG tracings, and images. Optionally, a video link may be used for visualization of the patient.

[…]