Abstract

Background: During sanitary emergencies such as the recent pandemic, health services can collapse. In these cases, remote orientation services such as call centers may help to debottleneck these services. Aim: To assess the demand and problem resolution of a clinical guidance telephone service during the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and Methods: The call registry between May and August 2020 of an orientation call center for COVID-19 was analyzed. The number of calls, sociodemographic features of callers, type of enquiry and given indications were described. Results: We analyzed 1,278 telephone calls, corresponding to 655 people. Sixty nine percent of queries were resolved during the call and in 31% of calls, users were referred to face-to-face evaluation. Two percent of these referrals were to an emergency service. Conclusions: The call center had a high level of resolution, favoring remote consultation and reducing face-to-face care, improving users' accessibility.