Telediagnostic apps based on information and communication technology tools can be used to enhance community hospital response capacity. Evidence on how this innovative technology can improve health services is limited, but will likely expand in the new decade. The ability of different telediagnostic methods to enhance the response capacity of community hospitals in rural areas of Paraguay was investigated.

This descriptive study was carried out by the Telemedicine Unit of the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare, in collaboration with the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging of the Health Science Research Institute and the University of the Basque Country, to evaluate the utility of telediagnostic apps for different disciplines in public health. The results from implementing telediagnosis apps in 60 public community hospitals across the country were analyzed and evaluated.

A total of 410,840 diagnoses were performed remotely between January 2014 and August 2018 across 60 rural community hospitals. The diagnoses involved computed tomography (147,627 or 36%), electrocardiography (256,422 or 62%), electroencephalography (6,772 or 2%), and ultrasound (19 or 0.01%). There were no significant differences between the remote and face-to-face diagnoses; remote diagnoses were correct in 93 percent of cases. Utilizing telediagnostic apps reduced costs, which is an important benefit for the 60 communities.

The results showed that telemedicine can significantly enhance the community hospital response capacity of diagnostic services and health programs, making optimal use of professional time and productivity, increasing access and equity, and reducing costs. However, before carrying out the systematic implementation of this technology, contextualization with the regional epidemiological profile must be performed.