The interoperability project has already impacted more than 7 million users of the municipal Unified Health System (SUS), and integrates more than 370 public health establishments in the capital of São Paulo.
Liberty Health, a company that provides advanced technology solutions for the Brazilian healthcare system, and Sensedia, a global company specializing in API and integration solutions, have joined forces to create a data network for the Unified Health System (SUS) in the city of São Paulo – the largest public healthcare ecosystem in Brazil.
The interoperability project already integrates more than 370 public health establishments in the city of São Paulo, including Basic Health Units (UBS), Emergency Care Units (UPA), polyclinics, hospitals, maternity wards, Psychosocial Care Centers (CAPS), and Occupational Health Reference Centers (Cerest).
"Interoperability is the ability of different systems to exchange information. In public health, this means that information such as a patient's care and test history can be accessed by any unit in the system, be it a primary care unit, emergency unit, or hospital, for example. Data integration offers advantages such as personalized care, faster clinical decisions, and the elimination of waste by avoiding repeat tests," explains Henrique Nixon, Chief Strategy Officer at Liberty Health.
The interoperability project began in October 2024 and has already impacted more than 7 million lives. "The exchange of information between different organizations and individuals not only reduces costs but also improves the quality of patient care. This is a project that would normally take about 8 months to implement. But thanks to Sensedia, we were able to simplify the complexity of interoperability and complete it in approximately 15 days," he adds.
To implement the project, Liberty Health collaborated with its know-how in the health sector, and Sensedia with technological maturity, being the interaction engine used to connect all health departments in São Paulo in a fluid and simplified way.
"By acting as digital bridges, APIs enable data from different healthcare systems to be exchanged in real time, quickly, simply, and securely. That's why we partnered with Liberty Health on this project, with the mission of providing all the necessary infrastructure to enable systems integration via APIs, aiming to increase operational efficiency, reduce potential failures, and reduce administrative and operational costs," reiterates Ricardo K. Medina, vice president of business for Brazil at Sensedia.
Interoperability in Brazilian healthcare
The healthcare interoperability project, also known as Open Health, began in 2022 as an initiative led by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the National Supplementary Health Agency (ANS), the Ministry of Economy, and the Central Bank. The main objective was to create a single patient record and simplify portability between health plans.
The initial proposal focused on improving patient access to their own data and promoting collaboration between the public and private sectors to integrate this information, reducing the fragmentation of care.
But since then, it has made timid progress and faces significant challenges, including a lack of integration between systems, fragmentation of health data, inequality in access to technology, and challenges in standardization, security, and data privacy.
"For the concept to be successful, it's crucial to ensure agile and secure interoperability between systems, relying on robust technological solutions that ensure a meticulous and fluid process, in addition to data standardization. This means that medical records and software used in the healthcare sector must be able to communicate efficiently, using a common standard," explains Marcelo Biangulo, Chief Data Officer at Liberty Health.
"Innovation also enables managers to develop preventive actions focused on patient profiles. Therefore, it's urgent that the implementation of interoperability be on the agenda not only of healthcare organizations but also of government agencies interested in developing projects that bring well-being to the population, in addition to optimizing resources," concludes Nixon.
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