You heard it on No Te Duermas
On the radio program, Dr. Walter González spoke about the solidarity initiative Salma Salud, which they carry out in collaboration with the Somos Barrios de Pie La Matanza movement.
Tomás Modini @ModiniTomas
At the start of the interview, Walter González explained the current status of the Salma Salud program: “It is gradually working well. In fact, the work of the Barrios de Pie health agents is very important. They are the ones running the program, which is a solidarity initiative. Let me make this clear: this is not a social security program nor a private health insurance plan. It has a low fee to access benefits for children aged 0 to 14, which includes an annual follow-up on the child’s health development.”
“In case of an emergency or more complex medical needs, we ensure that the families know how to access the services that would provide that care. And, most importantly, what my pediatric clinic does is offer a possibility for them to be attended to in primary care and low-to-medium complexity hospitalization. They have access to this with the fee,” he detailed.
He also emphasized, “If it’s more complex, we take responsibility for integrating them into public healthcare and, so to speak, ensuring that they get the medical attention they need.” He added, “Because many times, when they go to children’s hospitals like Posadas or Garrahan, the truth is that, since the cases seem less serious, many conditions aren’t prioritized.”
“In those cases, we support them with the health agents to ensure that they are kept in care,” he assured.
The Importance of Telemedicine
In a different topic, the doctor stressed the value of technology in healthcare: “The latest thing we are incorporating now, which I closed this weekend with experts, is telemedicine. It would be something very important to incorporate, not just for this group of people but for society as a whole.”
“Telemedicine is a scientific advancement that uses artificial intelligence, along with some primary care centers that other countries have already implemented. If we manage to implement it here, it would be a very positive step,” he expanded.
He continued, “Telemedicine means having a doctor available 24/7 on your phone. In fact, several private health insurance companies are already implementing it.” He explained, “One thing is the private health plan that charges $250,000 or $180,000 for coverage, and another is our context, where 60% of the population can’t afford that, but it allows you to access the advantage of telemedicine, which otherwise would be impossible.”
A Step Forward for Medicine
The interviewee added, “With this solidarity program, we are close to finding the lowest possible price so we can provide telemedicine through this fee. Between 70 and 80 percent of medical problems are solved in outpatient consultations, whether it’s a stomach ache, knee pain, or any other issue. You never know exactly what to do, whether to go to the emergency room or not. Here, you can send a picture and they’ll tell you if you need to go or not.”
“Telemedicine is accessing a doctor in 40 seconds or a minute, depending on the severity of the case. They’ll tell you what you need to do, what you should take, or where you should go if the situation requires more than just this consultation. This is done instead of googling, where you might misinterpret symptoms,” he concluded.
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