Research by Cetic.br also points to the need for greater investments in information security procedures and tools
The 2016 ICT Health survey points to stability in computer use and Internet access in public health facilities since 2014. These and other data are part of the annual survey of the Internet Management Committee in Brazil (CGI.br), carried out by the Center Studies for the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br) of the Information and Coordination Center of Ponto BR (NIC.br), which were launched this Wednesday (15) during the 8th Brazilian Congress of Telemedicine and Telehealth, in the city of Gramado (RS).
While computer use and Internet access are universal among private establishments (100%), this is still not a reality among public establishments: 87% of public establishments reported using a computer and 76% accessed the Internet. Among the Basic Health Units (UBS), which represent the majority of cases of establishments that did not use a computer 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 prior to the survey. "In general, the indicators remained stable over the last two years, revealing that the standards can be considered by public policy makers", reinforces Alexandre Barbosa, manager of Cetic.br.
Also with regard to infrastructure, the connection speeds most used by health facilities ranged in 2016 from 1 Mbps to 10 Mbps (35%). The historical series reveals the growth in the use of faster connections and the reduction of slower connections, especially among those up to 250 Kbps. The research also observed that only 19% of Brazilian health facilities had an IT area, sector or department, especially those with hospitalization and more than 50 beds (71%).
Information security
In 2016, only 23% of healthcare facilities that used the Internet had a document that defined the data security policy, a stable proportion compared to 2015. The presence of this type of document was more frequent among facilities with more than 50 beds ( 50%) and those located in capital cities (33%).
In relation to information security tools, antivirus (93%) was the most cited in the entire historical series. The research also points out that data protection by means of a password for accessing the electronic system (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 biometrics for accessing the electronic system (12%), are still underused.
"Issues related to information security still need to be better addressed by health establishments. There is a growing need to adopt procedures and tools that guarantee the security of the information stored by them. Few establishments have a data security policy and the great most still do not invest in more robust protection tools", warns Barbosa.
Electronic registration and services offered online
In 2016, 74% of health facilities had an electronic system to store patient information, however, only 12% stored information from the patient's medical record exclusively in electronic format. Most of them (63%) recorded information partially on paper and partially in electronic format and 24% used exclusively paper.
The research shows that approximately half of the health establishments were present on the Internet through websites or social networks. Only a small proportion of them, however, offered some type of Internet service: 18% provided appointment scheduling; 19% offered exam scheduling; 23% offered viewing of exam results, and 7% offered viewing of the patient's chart.
telehealth
As observed in previous editions of the survey, public establishments offer more telehealth services. While 29% of public establishments offer real-time interaction services at a distance, these services are offered in 13% of private establishments. The same pattern is observed for the provision of distance education and distance research. In the public sphere, 41% of the establishments declared to participate in some telehealth network. Among the private ones, this proportion was only 3%. In addition, an unprecedented indicator of the survey shows that state telehealth networks (16%) were the most cited, followed by the Federal Government's Telessaúde Brasil Redes Program (10%), and by the University Telemedicine Network (Rute), coordinated by the National Institute of Education and Research (RNP) (9%).
Benefits of adopting ICT
The research also highlights the positive view that doctors and nurses have on the impact of the implementation of electronic systems in establishments, not only for the organization of work but also for the health care provided to the patient. For these professionals, the implementation of electronic systems improved the efficiency of teamwork (87% for doctors and 90% for nurses) and care (83% for doctors and 86% for nurses); reduced the number of duplicate or unnecessary exams (82% for physicians and 79% for nurses); and improved the quality of treatment as a whole (75% for physicians and 87% for nurses).
about the search
ICT Health aims to investigate the penetration of ICTs in health facilities and their appropriation by health professionals (doctors and nurses). In its fourth edition, the study interviewed 2,298 managers of health facilities located throughout the national territory. In addition, 1,359 doctors and 2,197 nurses linked to these establishments were interviewed. In this edition, data collection took place between September 2016 and June 2017.
To access the research in its entirety, as well as review the historical series, visit: http://cetic.br/pesquisa/saude/indicadores. Read the annual publication: http://cetic.br/pesquisa/saude/publicacoes. And compare the evolution of indicators from the data visualization: http://data.cetic.br/cetic/explore?idPesquisa=TIC_SAUDE.
The Regional Center for Studies for the Development of the Information Society, from NIC.br, is responsible for producing indicators and statistics on the availability and use of the Internet in Brazil, disseminating analyzes and periodic information on the development of the network in the country. Cetic.br is a Regional Center for Studies, under the auspices of UNESCO. More information at http://www.cetic.br/.
While computer use and Internet access are universal among private establishments (100%), this is still not a reality among public establishments: 87% of public establishments reported using a computer and 76% accessed the Internet. Among the Basic Health Units (UBS), which represent the majority of cases of establishments that did not use a computer 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 prior to the survey. "In general, the indicators remained stable over the last two years, revealing that the standards can be considered by public policy makers", reinforces Alexandre Barbosa, manager of Cetic.br.
Also with regard to infrastructure, the connection speeds most used by health facilities ranged in 2016 from 1 Mbps to 10 Mbps (35%). The historical series reveals the growth in the use of faster connections and the reduction of slower connections, especially among those up to 250 Kbps. The research also observed that only 19% of Brazilian health facilities had an IT area, sector or department, especially those with hospitalization and more than 50 beds (71%).
Information security
In 2016, only 23% of healthcare facilities that used the Internet had a document that defined the data security policy, a stable proportion compared to 2015. The presence of this type of document was more frequent among facilities with more than 50 beds ( 50%) and those located in capital cities (33%).
In relation to information security tools, antivirus (93%) was the most cited in the entire historical series. The research also points out that data protection by means of a password for accessing the electronic system (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 biometrics for accessing the electronic system (12%), are still underused.
"Issues related to information security still need to be better addressed by health establishments. There is a growing need to adopt procedures and tools that guarantee the security of the information stored by them. Few establishments have a data security policy and the great most still do not invest in more robust protection tools", warns Barbosa.
Electronic registration and services offered online
In 2016, 74% of health facilities had an electronic system to store patient information, however, only 12% stored information from the patient's medical record exclusively in electronic format. Most of them (63%) recorded information partially on paper and partially in electronic format and 24% used exclusively paper.
The research shows that approximately half of the health establishments were present on the Internet through websites or social networks. Only a small proportion of them, however, offered some type of Internet service: 18% provided appointment scheduling; 19% offered exam scheduling; 23% offered viewing of exam results, and 7% offered viewing of the patient's chart.
telehealth
As observed in previous editions of the survey, public establishments offer more telehealth services. While 29% of public establishments offer real-time interaction services at a distance, these services are offered in 13% of private establishments. The same pattern is observed for the provision of distance education and distance research. In the public sphere, 41% of the establishments declared to participate in some telehealth network. Among the private ones, this proportion was only 3%. In addition, an unprecedented indicator of the survey shows that state telehealth networks (16%) were the most cited, followed by the Federal Government's Telessaúde Brasil Redes Program (10%), and by the University Telemedicine Network (Rute), coordinated by the National Institute of Education and Research (RNP) (9%).
Benefits of adopting ICT
The research also highlights the positive view that doctors and nurses have on the impact of the implementation of electronic systems in establishments, not only for the organization of work but also for the health care provided to the patient. For these professionals, the implementation of electronic systems improved the efficiency of teamwork (87% for doctors and 90% for nurses) and care (83% for doctors and 86% for nurses); reduced the number of duplicate or unnecessary exams (82% for physicians and 79% for nurses); and improved the quality of treatment as a whole (75% for physicians and 87% for nurses).
about the search
ICT Health aims to investigate the penetration of ICTs in health facilities and their appropriation by health professionals (doctors and nurses). In its fourth edition, the study interviewed 2,298 managers of health facilities located throughout the national territory. In addition, 1,359 doctors and 2,197 nurses linked to these establishments were interviewed. In this edition, data collection took place between September 2016 and June 2017.
To access the research in its entirety, as well as review the historical series, visit: http://cetic.br/pesquisa/saude/indicadores. Read the annual publication: http://cetic.br/pesquisa/saude/publicacoes. And compare the evolution of indicators from the data visualization: http://data.cetic.br/cetic/explore?idPesquisa=TIC_SAUDE.
The Regional Center for Studies for the Development of the Information Society, from NIC.br, is responsible for producing indicators and statistics on the availability and use of the Internet in Brazil, disseminating analyzes and periodic information on the development of the network in the country. Cetic.br is a Regional Center for Studies, under the auspices of UNESCO. More information at http://www.cetic.br/.
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