81% of healthcare facilities in Brazil have electronic patient data records, according to ICT Health 2017

Survey by Cetic.br shows that the offer of services to patients via the Internet has also grown

The proportion of healthcare facilities in Brazil with electronic systems to store patient information reached 81% last year, an increase of 15 percentage points compared to 2014 (66%). The data comes from the fifth edition of the ICT Health survey, released this Tuesday (10/2) by the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br) through the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br) at the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br). The release of the indicators and the launch of the publication with articles and analysis of the results took place in Fortaleza (CE) during the XVI Brazilian Congress of Health Informatics, organized by the Brazilian Society of Health Informatics (SBIS).

In public facilities that used the Internet, the presence of electronic systems for recording patient information grew from 55% in 2014 to 68% in 2017. "Despite significant growth, there were still few facilities that, in 2017, maintained information only in electronic format (21%). It is also important to note that the digital data most present are purely administrative in nature. A significant portion of data and information related to clinical care and direct patient care support still exist only on paper," notes Alexandre Barbosa, manager at Cetic.br.

Patient registration data is available in most facilities that used the Internet (81%), followed by information on admission, transfer, and discharge of the patient (44%); reports (32%) and radiological exam images (23%). The ICT Health 2017 also shows that administrative functionalities, such as scheduling consultations, exams, or surgeries (57%), ordering laboratory exams (45%), and ordering imaging exams (44%) are present in most establishments.

Online Services and Telehealth

Services to patients via the Internet show a growth trend: the visualization of exam results increased from 24% of facilities using the Internet in 2015 to 31% in 2017. Exam scheduling increased from 20% to 24% over the same period.

The survey data indicates that there are several telehealth and telemedicine initiatives in the country, especially among public facilities—39% developed distance learning activities and 29% distance research activities. In private establishments, these proportions were 9% and 11%, respectively.

"Telehealth is a fundamental tool to improve access to healthcare in remote regions with scarcity of services and health professionals. Moreover, telehealth enables training and continuous education for professionals who are not located in urban centers or near them. It is a critical practice to reduce costs and optimize healthcare delivery," considers Barbosa. Among the surveyed establishments, 23% declared participation in a telehealth network, a proportion that reaches 48% of public facilities and only 6% in the private sector.

Infrastructure and ICT Management

The ICT Health 2017 survey data also reveals that the use of computers (90%) and Internet access (77%) in public facilities remained stable. However, the availability of basic infrastructure proved critical among Basic Health Units (UBS): 12% of UBS did not have a computer, and 28% did not have Internet access. This means that in a universe of approximately 39,000 UBS, about five thousand did not use computers and more than 10,500 did not have Internet access.

There is also a relevant regional difference in computer use and Internet access. In the North, 94% of health facilities use computers, and 76% have Internet access. In the Northeast, the proportion is 86% and 75%, respectively.

Among facilities with an information technology (IT) department—about 22,600 in the country—the ICT Health 2017 indicates that almost 2,400 have at least one health professional on the team. The results indicate a deficit of more than 20,000 professionals with this qualification in IT departments. The presence of health professionals with training in medical informatics is an indicator of the maturity level of the establishment in adopting digital technologies in health.

Adoption of ICT among Doctors and Nurses

Despite the importance of qualifying professionals to work with ICT in health, the survey indicated that only 17% of doctors and 26% of nurses participated in any course, training, or qualification in ICT in health in the 12 months prior to the survey. There is, however, a positive perception regarding the use of electronic systems: 93% of doctors and 91% of nurses reported improvements in work process efficiency; 85% of doctors and 88% of nurses believe there was an improvement in overall treatment.

About the Survey

With internationally comparable methodology, ICT Health aims to investigate the penetration of ICT in health facilities and its appropriation by healthcare professionals (doctors and nurses). In its fifth edition, the survey interviewed 2,336 facility managers nationwide. Additionally, 1,629 doctors and 2,652 nurses linked to the same establishments were interviewed. Data collection occurred from August to November 2017 for the managers and from October 2017 to April 2018 for health professionals.

To access the full survey and review the historical series, visit: https://cetic.br/pesquisa/saude/indicadores. Read the annual publication at https://cetic.br/pesquisa/saude/publicacoes, and compare indicator evolution through data visualization: https://data.cetic.br/cetic/explore?idPesquisa=TIC_SAUDE.

About Cetic.br

The Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society, part of NIC.br, is responsible for producing indicators and statistics on Internet availability and usage in Brazil, providing periodic analyses and information on network development in the country. Cetic.br is a Regional Study Center under UNESCO's auspices. More information at https://www.cetic.br/.

About the Brazilian Network Information Center – NIC.br

The Brazilian Network Information Center – NIC.br (https://www.nic.br/) is a non-profit private civil entity that, besides implementing decisions and projects of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee, is also responsible for coordinating the registration of domain names – Registro.br (https://www.registro.br/), studying, responding, and handling security incidents in Brazil – CERT.br (https://www.cert.br/), studying and researching network technologies and operations – Ceptro.br (https://www.ceptro.br/), producing indicators on information and communication technologies – Cetic.br (https://www.cetic.br/), implementing and operating Traffic Exchange Points – IX.br (https://ix.br/), enabling the Brazilian community's participation in the global development of the Web and supporting public policy formulation – Ceweb.br (https://www.ceweb.br/), and hosting the W3C office in Brazil (https://www.w3c.br/).

About the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee – CGI.br

The Brazilian Internet Steering Committee is responsible for establishing strategic guidelines related to Internet use and development in Brazil, coordinating and integrating all Internet service initiatives in the country, and promoting the technical quality, innovation, and dissemination of the services offered. Based on the principles of multistakeholderism and transparency, CGI.br represents a democratically praised international Internet governance model in which all sectors of society participate equally in decision-making processes. One of its formulations is the 10 Principles for Internet Governance and Use (https://www.cgi.br/principios). More information at https://www.cgi.br/.

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