Telehealth for Care of People in the Brazilian Primary Healthcare: An Integrative Review

Background and Aim Telehealth is a care model in primary health care (PHC), especially in hard‐to‐reach areas where the shortage of health professionals is still a problem. The aim is to know and synthesize the articles on experiences with telehealth in the Brazilian PHC. Methods This is an integrative review in which bibliographic databases were searched for articles published in Portuguese, English or Spanish between 2014 and 2024. Results Twenty articles were selected, all being observational. It was found that six studies (30%) were conducted in the PHC of the state of Minas Gerais, five (25%) in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, and four (20%) reported the domestic scenario. Teleconsulting was the most frequently reported telehealth modality across the included studies (60%), predominantly involving provider‐to‐provider interactions aimed at clinical support and decision‐making. Direct provider‐to‐patient remote consultation was rarely reported in the included studies. No studies addressing experiences with remote consultation for follow‐up and education of patients with non‐communicable chronic conditions were found, nor teleservices by multi‐professional teams. Studies on teleconsultation for mental healthcare, a frequent demand in PHC, were not observed either. Conclusion Although telehealth initiatives have been reported in different regions of the country, the available evidence is concentrated in specific states, particularly in the Southeast and South regions; there are distinctions, especially those related to infrastructure. In addition, no studies addressing telehealth interface with attributes derived from PHC were found, such as cultural competence as well as family and community orientation.