A systematic review of telemedicine projects in Colombia

Abstract

A systematic review of telemedicine projects in Colombia is presented, aiming to be able to make recommendations from past experiences. Our study consisted on retrieving projects through an exhaustive search strategy, and then classifying and assessing their evaluations. Results show a country with a lot of institutions, both private and public, including the government, working for the development of the telemedicine in Colombia through more than 45 projects. Health care services have mostly been provided on a telemedicine basis to, at least, 550 000 patients, and they have connected more than 650 health care institutions, mainly in deprived areas of the country. Unfortunately, none of these projects has been rigorously evaluated, and no recommendations can be made with a minimum degree of evidence for their support. The proposed methodology is suitable for similar studies about telemedicine evaluation in other developing countries.