Brazilian health establishments advance in digitalization, but computer skills applied to the area are still reduced among sector professionals, survey reveals

Released this Friday (11), TIC Saúde 2024 shows that the use of electronic systems has reached 92% of establishments, while 23% of doctors and nurses have undergone some form of training in the past year to deal with technologies.

The adoption of information and communication technologies (ICT) in Brazilian health establishments has advanced in recent years, but the percentage of professionals in the area who have received specific training to deal with the demands arising from the digital transformation process is still low. TIC Saúde 2024, released this Friday (11) by the Internet Steering Committee in Brazil (CGI.br), presents unpublished indicators on the topic. Conducted by the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br) of the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br), the 11th edition of the survey shows that only 23% of doctors have undertaken some kind of qualification and training in healthcare informatics in the past 12 months prior to the interviews. The same proportion was observed among nurses (23%).

Among the trained doctors, the main subjects studied were: patient safety (95%); ethics, security, and privacy (85%); data and information analysis (84%); data quality (82%), and person-centered care (80%). Among nurses, patient safety (85%), person-centered care (80%), ethics, security, and privacy (79%), and data and information analysis (75%) were among the most recurrent topics.

“Considering the advancement of digital health in the country, it is essential for health professionals to have specific training for the appropriate use of digital technologies, understanding their potentials and risks,” evaluates Alexandre Barbosa, manager at Cetic.br|NIC.br.

According to the survey, 92% of health establishments in Brazil have some type of electronic system for recording patient information. From 2023 to 2024, there was an increase of 5 percentage points in this indicator.

In Basic Healthcare Units (UBS), the growth was even higher: it increased from 89% to 97% in comparison between the two years. This greater informatization also reflected in the greater availability of certain types of data in electronic format. About 95% of UBS have digital information on patient vaccines. Additionally, 96% of these units maintain patient history, and 76% have admission, transfer, and discharge data in this format.

“The adoption of electronic systems in healthcare enables improvements in the quality and safety of patient care, with the potential to reduce medical errors, promoting safer clinical practices, and facilitating the sharing and monitoring of data between different levels of care,” emphasizes Barbosa.

Universalization of access to ICT
Computer use in Brazilian health establishments is moving towards universalization (97%), according to the survey. There was an advance in the adoption of notebooks (from 64% to 68%, from 2023 to 2024) and tablets (from 36% to 39% in the same period). In the UBS, the increase in the use of tablets stands out, going from 44% to 53%, from one year to another.

In 2024, the survey investigated the use of ICTs by nurses and doctors. Interviews with these professionals are conducted every two years, therefore the data presented should be compared with the 2022 edition. The results indicate growth in the adoption of tablets by nurses in relation to 2022, from 9% to 13%, while the use of portable computers remained stable (29%). In the case of doctors, the increase occurred in the use of portable computers, which went from 25% to 36% in the same period. The use of tablets increased from 16% to 18%.

Generative AI Tools
This edition brings a new indicator on the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools by health professionals. The results indicate that about 16% of nurses used the resource, with 11% in public establishments and 26% in private ones. In hospitals with more than 50 beds, this tool was adopted by 23% of nurses. The main use was to assist in research (86%) and communication among the work team (66%).

Among doctors, adherence to Generative AI was 17%, with 14% in public establishments and 20% in private ones. As with nurses, a higher percentage of doctors in hospitals with more than 50 beds (21%) used this tool. The survey shows that 69% used it to assist in research and 54% to help with reports entered in medical records.

About 4% of Brazilian health establishments use AI, with the most common resources being: automation of workflow processes (67%), application or use of Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Bard (63%), and text mining and written language analysis (49%).

Among the establishments that did not adopt AI tools, the main reasons are: lack of necessity (59%), not a priority (61%), and costs being too high (49%).

Telehealth
The TIC Saúde 2024 survey also reveals that about one-third of establishments in the area offer online services to patients, such as scheduling appointments and exams, and viewing exam results. The result remained stable compared to 2023.

Regarding telehealth services, teleconsultation (consultation between healthcare professionals about clinical procedures and health actions) was the most available in health establishments (30%), followed by teleconsultation (23%) and telediagnosis (23%).

Teleconsultation is available in 38% of public establishments and 23% of private ones; telemonitoring in 24% versus 9%, respectively; and teleconsultation in 23% of both establishments.

Information Security
In 2024, the survey identified advances in the use of information security tools by health establishments. The main increases were in the use of file and email encryption (from 46% to 54%, from 2023 to 2024), and database encryption (from 40% to 46%). Additionally, the use of digital certificates increased from 52% to 57% in the same period.

In 47% of establishments, employees received information security training. However, there is still a significant disparity between public (34%) and private (59%) that offer this type of training.

Regarding the adoption of measures related to the General Data Protection Law (LGPD), the survey shows that it has been more prevalent in private establishments than in public ones. In 2024, 57% of private and 28% of public conducted internal awareness campaigns on the LGPD, the most adopted measure by establishments. The implementation of a response plan in case of a personal data security incident was done by 45% of private establishments and 14% of public ones. The appointment of a data officer was carried out by 43% of private and 14% of public.

"These results demonstrate that there is still a considerable challenge for health establishments to comply with the measures established by the LGPD," concludes Barbosa.

About the Survey
The survey aims to investigate the adoption of ICTs in health establishments and their appropriation by health professionals. In this 11th edition, interviews were conducted by phone between February and August 2024, with 2,057 health establishment managers and 2,021 health professionals located throughout the national territory.

The survey is organized by the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br), a department of the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br), with institutional support from international organizations – such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) – as well as institutional and technical support from the Ministry of Health, the National Agency for Supplementary Health (ANS), the National Council of Health Secretariats (Conass), the National Council of Municipal Health Secretaries (Conasems), the Brazilian Company of Hospitals Services (EBSERH), the Brazilian Society of Health Informatics (SBIS), and specialists associated with important universities.

To access the full survey, visit: https://cetic.br/pt/pesquisa/saude/indicadores/.

About Cetic.br
The Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br), from NIC.br, is responsible for producing indicators and statistics on Internet access and use in Brazil, disseminating periodic analyses and information on network development in the Country. Cetic.br|NIC.br is also a Regional Study Center under UNESCO's auspices and completes 19 years of operation in 2024. More information at https://cetic.br/.

About the Brazilian Network Information Center – NIC.br
The Brazilian Network Information Center – NIC.br (https://nic.br/) is a private, non-profit civil entity responsible for operating the .br domain, as well as the distribution of IP numbers and the registration of Autonomous Systems in the Country. NIC.br implements the decisions and projects of the Internet Steering Committee in Brazil – CGI.br since 2005, and all resources collected are from its activities which are entirely private in nature. It conducts actions and projects that benefit the Internet infrastructure in Brazil. NIC.br includes: Registro.br (https://registro.br/), CERT.br (https://cert.br/), Ceptro.br (https://ceptro.br/), Cetic.br (https://cetic.br/), IX.br (https://ix.br/) and Ceweb.br (https://ceweb.br/), besides projects like Internetsegura.br (https://internetsegura.br/) and the Best Practices for Internet in Brazil Portal (https://bcp.nic.br/). It also houses the office of the W3C São Paulo Chapter (https://w3c.br/).

About the Internet Steering Committee in Brazil – CGI.br
The Internet Steering Committee in Brazil, responsible for establishing strategic guidelines related to the use and development of the Internet in Brazil, coordinates and integrates all Internet service initiatives in the Country, promoting technical quality, innovation, and dissemination of the services offered. Based on the principles of multistakeholderism and transparency, CGI.br represents a democratic Internet governance model, internationally praised, in which all sectors of society participate equally in its decisions. One of its formulations are the 10 Principles for Internet Governance and Use (https://cgi.br/resolucoes/documento/2009/003). More information at https://cgi.br/.

Press Contacts – NIC.br:

Weber Shandwick
https://webershandwick.com.br/
PABX: (11) 3027-0200 / 3531-4950
Milena Oliveira - moliveira@webershandwick.com – (11) 98384-3500
Paula Boracini - pboracini@webershandwick.com – (11) 98123-5235

Communication Advisory – NIC.br
Carolina Carvalho - Communication Manager - carolcarvalho@nic.br
Ana Nascimento - Communication Coordinator – ananascimento@nic.br

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