Teleinterconsultations in pediatric specialties in Primary Health Care: Experience from a pilot project

Abstract

Telehealth has become an increasingly relevant strategy for improving healthcare by expanding access to specialists and promoting integration across levels of care. This study aimed to evaluate the experience of a municipality in the Central-West region of Brazil with the use of teleinterconsultations for early childhood care, mediated by multidisciplinary teams affiliated with Medical Residency Programs in Family and Community Medicine and Multiprofessional Residency Programs in Family Health. This observational, cross-sectional, descriptive study analyzed 858 consultations recorded on the TeleFiocruz platform between December 2024 and July 2025. Of these, 352 were related to child healthcare: 262 (74.4%) in child psychiatry, 76 (21.6%) in pediatric neurology, and 14 (4.0%) in pediatrics. The detailed analysis focused on the first two specialties. In child psychiatry, 262 consultations were recorded, involving 42 healthcare professionals and 136 patients, while pediatric neurology accounted for 76 consultations involving 34 healthcare professionals and 58 patients. The results showed different patterns of use across specialties and participating primary care units. Teleinterconsultation has potential as a strategy to support collaboration between Primary Health Care professionals and specialists in child healthcare.