Development and implementation of telehealth for peritoneal dialysis and kidney transplant patients monitoring during the COVID-19 pandemic

Deboni, Luciane M; Neermann, Eviline M V; Calice-Silva, Viviane; Hanauer, Marina A; Moreira, Arnaldo; Ambrósio, Andrei; Guterres, Denise B; Vieira, Marcos A; Nerbass, Fabiana B

The coronavirus (Sars-Cov-2) pandemic raised the need for social distance to reduce its spread. Chronic kidney disease patients on renal replacement therapy are especially susceptible to developing the most severe form of COVID-19, and, at the same time, require regular medical and multidisciplinary periodic follow-up. On an emergency basis, Brazil’s professional regulatory bodies authorized telehealth assistance, which made possible to migrate from face-to-face to distance appointments in health services across the country, when necessary. This article’s main objective is to describe the process of developing and implementing telehealth for monitoring renal transplant patients and patients on peritoneal dialysis during the COVID-19 pandemic.