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Background: In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil, teleconsultation was considered an important instrument in the fight against the health crisis, with temporary mandates changing the current legislation to expand its use. This study examined the perceptions of health care providers and users regarding teleconsultation. Methods: The study consisted of a national survey of 1,089 participants, of which 480 were health care providers and 609 were users, carried out through two semistructured questionnaires administered between June and August 2020, using six categories of analysis for teleconsultation-quality, remuneration, duties and responsibilities, experience and positioning regarding use, and technology-and an additional question about the benefits and harms of telemedicine. Results: The research indicated that, although face-to-face care is favored, there is an important movement toward accepting virtual care, even though there are relative differences in perception regarding the six categories analyzed. Discussion: Regarding the benefits of telemedicine, issues such as access, practicality, agility, convenience, easiness, and speed stood out as well as concerns such as contact, quality, impersonality, distance, errors, and falsehood, among others. Conclusions: Although there is evidence of benefits and limitations, bringing to light that contributions from the perception of health care providers and users can help promote debates to establish teleconsultation on a permanent basis in Brazil.

Telomere length measured in leukocyte (LTL) has been found to be associated with the risk of developing several cancer types, including myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). LTL is genetically determined by, at least, 11 SNPs previously shown to influence LTL. Their combination in a score has been used as a genetic instrument to measure LTL and evaluate the causative association between LTL and the risk of several cancer types. We tested, for the first time, the "teloscore" in 480 MPN patients and 909 healthy controls in a European multi-center case-control study. We found an increased risk to develop MPNs with longer genetically determined telomeres (OR = 1.82, 95% CI 1.24-2.68, P = 2.21 × 10 -3 , comparing the highest with the lowest quintile of the teloscore distribution). Analyzing the SNPs individually we confirm the association between TERT-rs2736100-C allele and increased risk of developing MPNs and we report a novel association of the OBFC1-rs9420907-C variant with higher MPN risk (OR allelic  = 1.43; 95% CI 1.15-1.77; P = 1.35 × 10 -3 ). Consistently with the results obtained with the teloscore, both risk alleles are also associated with longer LTL. In conclusion, our results suggest that genetically determined longer telomeres could be a risk marker for MPN development.