How interactive tech can be an ally on minimizing the effects of Covid-19 in Brazil
With the use of tele medicine, the spread of the virus can fall drastically
Written by Ianka Cristina, analist in the e-SUS APS project.
This content was writen during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Covid-19 pandemic started to spread in Brazil in march of 2020, causing insecurity among the citizens and a general increase on the search for health services.
Because of the high contagion rate, government entities and the eHealth market began to invest heavily in digital resources and technologies for non-physical service on dealing with suspect cases. That’s good news in the chaos that Covid-19 created.
Telemedicine in these times
Telemedicine is already used in many situations in Brazil, and can contribute to slow down and minimize the impacts of the new corona. The digital tools that promote virtual doctor-patient interaction give opportunity to a remote evaluation of the user’s health condition.
The Ministry of Health, on 23/03, made public the Ordinance 467/20, on a temporary character. There are listed the activities on telemedicine in the country, on the Unified Health Service (SUS, in Portuguese) and in the private health sector.
The professional can trace strategies for questioning the patient and formulate hypothesis to understand about their health conditions. Remotely, one can define a care plan or point another service that fits better for that patient.
A good example is the program Alô Saúde (Hello, Health), in Florianópolis, the capital of Santa Catarina state. It is a pre-clinical service that gives health orientations to the citizens who call them, and can be reached by free phone calls or messages on WhatsApp.
The city government hopes that the program contribute to decrease queues and the flux of people in the health service places, slowing down the spread of the virus among the ill and health servers.
The city government hopes that the program contribute to decrease queues and the flux of people in the health service places, slowing down the spread of the virus among the ill and health servers.
Initiatives like this show that applying diagnose tech in health services can be a decisive measure against Covid-19. Besides, it is an opportunity to make the access to health services easier once people are caught in the middle of a respiratory disease crisis.
It’s worth making clear that implementing interactive techs require preparation, human resources training and plans for logistical access. This are primary actions that can work as intermediary steps towards a better — and safer — way of treating Covid-19 infections.
But users might need access to health services in a more complex scale. With the right tech tool, we are be able to guide the patients towards their most adequate service in no time. Doing it helps preventing contact of an infected patient with several health servers before the diagnose.
Check out e-SUS APS 4.0, the project of Laboratório Bridge that uses technology to the help to improve the health care system of Brazil. Content writen in Portuguese.
This pandemic is a critical situation, that’s a fact. But it also gives us the opportunity to increase the quality of processes and fluxes in the usage of technology and information. Not just for this moment, but also for the future, we need to facilitate the access to a proper health attendance to the citizens.
In moments like this it is important to give opportunity to the development of new technologies, learn how to use them in the best way possible and evaluate the impact of its implementation in the health sector.
For the current scenario, some personal strategies are also highly effective: clinical monitored isolation (via apps, software, calls or video conferences) can also contain the exponential increase of Covid-19 infections.
Finally: health tech is an effective and safe way of connecting professionals and patients. Stay safe, and stay home!
The Bridge Laboratory operates at the Technological Center of the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), with teams formed by graduate students, hired professionals and mentoring teachers.
Since 2013, we have developed systems and applications in partnership with the Ministry of Health and the National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA).
