{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,18]],"date-time":"2025-11-18T06:26:14Z","timestamp":1763447174176,"version":"3.45.0"},"reference-count":24,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,18]],"date-time":"2025-11-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1763424000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia, telemedicine (TM) became a key strategy to sustain healthcare delivery for both acute and chronic conditions. This study aimed to describe the utilization and characteristics of TM during the pandemic in Colombia.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We conducted a retrospective, descriptive study using administrative and clinical records from a major Colombian health insurance provider covering approximately 15% of the national population. We analyzed all TM consultations between March 2020 and June 2021, assessing sociodemographic, geographic, and clinical characteristics. TM users and the overall insured population were described, and primary care unit (PCU) locations were georeferenced.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A total of 10,016,931 individuals were enrolled in the health insurance plan, of whom 2,633,564 used TM services during the study period. TM users were predominantly female (62.8%) and aged 19\u201345\u202fyears (55.3%). Most belonged to low-income groups (64.9%) and were affiliated with the subsidized income level group. The most frequent diagnosis was COVID-19 (28.3%), followed by general symptoms and unspecified conditions (19.4%). Telemedicine was used nationwide, with higher concentrations in central and northern departments such as Antioquia and Bogot\u00e1.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>During the pandemic, telemedicine was widely adopted across Colombia and reached large segments of low-income populations, suggesting its potential to support healthcare access in diverse settings. While our descriptive design does not allow for causal claims about effectiveness or equity, these findings highlight the value of TM as a complementary healthcare delivery model. Continued investment in digital infrastructure, workforce training, and primary care networks will be essential for its long-term integration into Colombia\u2019s health system.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1667349","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,18]],"date-time":"2025-11-18T06:21:52Z","timestamp":1763446912000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The role of telemedicine in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Susana Orrego","family":"Villegas","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Eric Adjei","family":"Boakye","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jafet","family":"Arrieta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Karine Posada","family":"Espa\u00f1a","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Melisa Naranjo","family":"Vanegas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gloria Prado","family":"Pino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","volume-title":"LEY N\u00daMERO 1122 DE 2007","year":"2007"},{"key":"ref2","volume-title":"An\u00e1lisis de situaci\u00f3n de salud (ASIS) Colombia, 2021","year":"2021"},{"key":"ref3","year":"2019"},{"key":"ref4","volume-title":"Wellness in Your Pocket: Update Your Health","year":"2019"},{"key":"ref5","volume-title":"Telesalud, mayor acceso y equidad para todos los colombianos","year":"2019"},{"key":"ref6","volume-title":"101 millones de atenciones en telemedicina en Colombia durante el \u00faltimo a\u00f1o (Bolet\u00edn de Prensa No 321 de 2021).","year":"2021"},{"key":"ref7","volume-title":"Durante la pandemia se consolid\u00f3 la telemedicina en el pa\u00eds (Bolet\u00edn de Prensa No 875 de 2020)","year":"2020"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"8147","DOI":"10.5867\/medwave.2021.03.8147","article-title":"Description and analysis of primary care-based COVID-19 interventions in Colombia","volume":"21","author":"Hern\u00e1ndez Rinc\u00f3n","year":"2021","journal-title":"Medwave"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"612","DOI":"10.1177\/2150132720980612","article-title":"Implementation and usefulness of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review","volume":"11","author":"Hincapi\u00e9","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Prim Care Community Health"},{"key":"ref10","first-page":"854","article-title":"Telemedicine application and assessment during the COVID-19 pandemic","volume-title":"Studies in health technology and informatics","author":"Bezerra","year":"2022"},{"key":"ref11","volume-title":"Seguros Sura Health Insurance","year":"2025"},{"key":"ref12","year":"2025"},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1650","DOI":"10.1093\/ije\/dyz006","article-title":"Changes in millennial adolescent mental health and health-related behaviours over 10 years: a population cohort comparison study","volume":"48","author":"Patalay","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int J Epidemiol"},{"key":"ref14","volume-title":"Telehealth in primary health care: a scoping review of the literature","author":"Beheshti","year":"2019"},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"796","DOI":"10.1093\/jamia\/ocz108","article-title":"Advancing health equity and access using telemedicine: a geospatial assessment","volume":"26","author":"Khairat","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Am Med Inform Assoc"},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"434","DOI":"10.1016\/j.amepre.2021.01.030","article-title":"Who is (and is not) receiving telemedicine care during the COVID-19 pandemic","volume":"61","author":"Cantor","year":"2021","journal-title":"Am J Prev Med"},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"104467","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijmedinf.2021.104467","article-title":"Telemedicine use in sub-Saharan Africa: barriers and policy recommendations for Covid-19 and beyond","volume":"151","author":"Dodoo","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int J Med Inform"},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1360","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph19031360","article-title":"The promise of digital self-management: a reflection about the effects of patient-targeted e-health tools on self-management and wellbeing","volume":"19","author":"van Olmen","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int J Environ Res Public Health"},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"376.","DOI":"10.1186\/s12913-025-12449-7","article-title":"The use of telemedicine in family medicine: a scoping review","volume":"25","author":"Mahdavi","year":"2025","journal-title":"BMC Health Serv Res"},{"key":"ref20","volume-title":"Universalizar el acceso a las tecnolog\u00edas digitales para enfrentar los efectos del COVID-19","year":"2020"},{"key":"ref21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.26633\/RPSP.2024.137","article-title":"Towards 2030: ministerial agreements on information systems and digital transformation for resilient health systems","volume":"48","author":"da Silva","year":"2024","journal-title":"Pan Am J Pub Health"},{"key":"ref22","volume-title":"How digital transformation can accelerate data use in health systems","author":"Eccher","year":"2025"},{"key":"ref23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"233","DOI":"10.1080\/01612840.2018.1499157","article-title":"Using telehealth to remediate rural mental health and healthcare disparities","volume":"40","author":"Myers","year":"2019","journal-title":"Issues Ment Health Nurs"},{"key":"ref24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"773","DOI":"10.1089\/tmj.2019.29028.crd","article-title":"Telemedicine, telehealth, and the public health good","volume":"25","author":"Doarn","year":"2019","journal-title":"Telemedicine e-Health"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Public 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