Telemedicine consultations through health ministries in Mexico 2020, by type

In Mexico, about 5.7 million telemedicine consultations were provided by regional health ministries between January and November 2020. Approximately half of these health services were given to treat COVID-19, whether for medical advice, actions or patient referrals. Meanwhile, telemedicine health services unrelated to COVID-19 amounted to around 2.9 million, including medical follow-ups, advice, and patient monitoring.

Do Mexicans trust Telemedicine?

Telemedicine is a type of health service provided through technological means, which allows access to health care while reducing distance barriers, waiting times, and costs. As physical distancing measures were imposed by the pandemic, telemedicine services emerged as an alternative to receive health care as well as to continue medical treatments remotely. Within this context, Mexico had a level of trusts on telemedicine services of around 60 percent during the second year of the pandemic. In 2021, almost 70 percent of remote medical patients received medical prescriptions and disease follow-up services entirely online.

Doctors often require examining patients in person

A study conducted in 2021 found out that roughly 84 percent of physicians in Mexico used the internet for either personal or professional reasons. In that same year, 90 percent of doctors who provided telemedicine services to their patients had adjusted treatments, including changes in drug dosage and frequency. However, telemedicine also presented challenges to health professionals. In 2021, the need to examine the patient in person was the main barrier to provide remote consultations according to 83 percent of physicians who used the internet for professional reasons.