Last-mile Triage under a Tarp: Smartphone-based Auscultation on a Medical Mission in Ecuador

Medical outreach missions in last-mile settings often operate under high patient volume, limited diagnostics, and uncertain access to follow-up. This field report describes a 2025 medical mission in Ecuador organized by Fundación Hombro a Hombro with local partners, where clinicians used a smartphone-based auscultation workflow to support first-pass screening and triage in temporary clinics. The mission also underscored the importance of culturally respectful care in communities with long-standing healing traditions. For many patients in remote communities, these brigades remain a rare opportunity for timely evaluation and connection to further care. The practical principle is simple: small improvements in triage can help ensure those most in need are not missed.

Published in Christian Journal for Global Health. The abstract is shown as published and remains the work of its authors; read the full article at the source.

doi.org/10.15566/ajvrrc11