ICT Health 2016 highlights challenges for universal Internet access in public health establishments

Survey by Cetic.br also highlights the need for greater investments in information security procedures and tools

The survey ICT Health 2016 indicates stability in the use of computers and Internet access in public health establishments since 2014. These and other data are part of the annual survey by the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br), conducted by the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br) of the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br), and were released this Wednesday (15th) during the 8th Brazilian Congress of Telemedicine and Telehealth, in the city of Gramado (RS).

While the use of computers and Internet access are universal among private establishments (100%), this is not yet the reality among public establishments: 87% of public establishments reported using computers and 76% accessed the Internet. Among Basic Health Units (UBS), which account for the majority of cases of establishments not using computers or the Internet, the survey estimates that 5,779 UBS did not use computers and 11,107 did not access the Internet in the 12 months preceding the survey. "In general, the indicators remained stable over the past two years, revealing patterns that can be considered by public policy formulators," emphasizes Alexandre Barbosa, manager of Cetic.br.

Regarding infrastructure, the most used connection speeds by health establishments in 2016 ranged from 1 Mbps to 10 Mbps (35%). The historical series reveals the growth of faster connections and the reduction of slower ones, especially those up to 250 Kbps. The survey also noted that only 19% of Brazilian health establishments had an IT area, sector, or department, particularly those with in-patient care and more than 50 beds (71%).

Information Security

In 2016, only 23% of health establishments using the Internet had a document defining data security policy, a stable proportion compared to 2015. The presence of this type of document was more common among establishments with more than 50 beds (50%) and those located in capitals (33%).

Regarding information security tools, antivirus (93%) was the most cited throughout the historical series. The survey also indicates that data protection via electronic system access passwords (74%) and the use of a firewall (52%) were the second and third most used tools by establishments, respectively. More sophisticated protection tools, such as database encryption (24%) and biometric access to the electronic system (12%), are still underutilized.

"Information security issues still need to be better addressed by health establishments. There is an increasing need to adopt procedures and tools ensuring the security of the information they store. Few establishments have a data security policy, and the majority still do not invest in more robust protection tools," warns Barbosa.

Electronic Records and Online Services

In 2016, 74% of health establishments had an electronic system to store patient information, yet only 12% stored patient records exclusively in electronic format. Most of them (63%) recorded information partially on paper and partially electronically, and 24% used only paper.

The survey shows that approximately half of the health establishments had an online presence either via websites or social networks. However, only a small proportion offered any type of service over the Internet: 18% provided scheduling of appointments; 19% offered exam scheduling; 23% provided the viewing of exam results, and 7% offered viewing of patient medical records.

Telehealth

As observed in previous editions of the survey, public establishments offer more telehealth services. While 29% of public establishments offer real-time remote interaction services, these services are provided by 13% of private establishments. The same pattern is observed for the provision of distance education and tele-research. In the public sphere, 41% of establishments reported participating in some telehealth network. Among private ones, this proportion was only 3%. Additionally, a new indicator of the survey shows that state telehealth networks (16%) were the most cited, followed by the Federal Government's Telehealth Brazil Networks Program (10%) and the National Education and Research Network's (RNP) University Telemedicine Network (Rute) (9%).

Benefits of ICT Adoption

The survey also highlights the positive view that doctors and nurses have on the impact of implementing electronic systems in establishments, not only for work organization but also for the health care provided to patients. According to these professionals, the implementation of electronic systems improved team efficiency (87% of doctors and 90% of nurses) and patient service (83% of doctors and 86% of nurses); it reduced the number of duplicate or unnecessary exams (82% of doctors and 79% of nurses); and it improved the overall quality of treatment (75% of doctors and 87% of nurses).

About the Survey

The ICT Health aims to investigate the penetration of ICT in health establishments and its appropriation by health professionals (doctors and nurses). In its fourth edition, the study interviewed 2,298 managers of health establishments across the national territory. Additionally, 1,359 doctors and 2,197 nurses associated with these establishments were interviewed. In this edition, data collection occurred between September 2016 and June 2017.

To access the full survey and review the historical series, visit: https://cetic.br/pesquisa/saude/indicadores. Read the annual publication: 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 the availability and use of the Internet in Brazil, disseminating periodic analyses and information on the network's development in the country. Cetic.br is a Regional Study Center, under the auspices of UNESCO. 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 civil, private, non-profit entity that, in addition to implementing the decisions and projects of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee, is tasked with coordinating domain name registration – Registro.br (https://www.registro.br/), studying, responding to, and handling security incidents in Brazil – CERT.br (https://www.cert.br/), researching and researching networks and operations technologies – Ceptro.br (https://www.ceptro.br/), producing indicators on information and communication technologies – Cetic.br (https://www.cetic.br/), fostering and promoting the evolution of the Web in Brazil – Ceweb.br (https://www.ceweb.br/) and housing 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 the use and development of the Internet in Brazil, coordinating and integrating all Internet service initiatives in the country, promoting technical quality, innovation, and the dissemination of offered services. Based on the principles of multiactorship and transparency, the CGI.br represents a democratic internet governance model, internationally praised, where all sectors of society equitably participate in its decisions. 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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