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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2021 Sep 28;18(19):10218.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph181910218.

Description of e-Health Initiatives to Reduce Chronic Non-Communicable Disease Burden on Brazilian Health System

Daniela Laranja Gomes Rodrigues  1 , Gisele Silvestre Belber  1 , Igor da Costa Borysow  1 , Marcos Aurelio Maeyama  2 , Ana Paula Neves Marques de Pinho  1
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Description of e-Health Initiatives to Reduce Chronic Non-Communicable Disease Burden on Brazilian Health System

Daniela Laranja Gomes Rodrigues et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Chronic non-communicable diseases (NCD) account for 72% of the causes of death in Brazil. In 2013, 54 million Brazilians reported having at least one NCD. The implementation of e-Health in the Unified Health System (SUS) could fill gaps in access to health in primary health care (PHC).

Objective: to demonstrate telehealth strategies carried out within the scope of the Institutional Development Support Program of the Unified Health System (PROADI-SUS) and developed by Hospital Alemão Oswaldo Cruz, between 2018 and 2021, on evaluation, supply, and problem-solving capacity for patients with NCDs.

Methodology: a prospective and descriptive study of three projects in the telehealth areas, using document analysis. The Brasil Redes project used availability, implementation, and cost-effectiveness analysis, TELEconsulta Diabetes is a randomized clinical trial, and Regula Mais Brasil is focused on the waiting list for regulation of specialties. All those strategies were developed within the scope of the SUS.

Results: 161 patients were attended by endocrinology teleconsultation in one project and another two research projects, one evaluating Brazil's Telehealth Network Program, and another evaluating effectiveness and safety of teleconsultation in patients with diabetes mellitus referred from primary care to specialized care in SUS. Despite the discrepancy in the provision of telehealth services in the country, there was an increase in access to specialized care on the three projects and especially on the Regula Mais Brasil Collaborative project; we observed a reduction on waiting time and favored distance education processes.

Conclusion: the three projects offered subsidies for decision-making by the Ministry of Health in e-Health and two developed technologies that could be incorporated into SUS.

Keywords: Brazil; chronic non-communicable diseases; primary health care; unified health system.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest and the funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Brazil’s states with telehealth initiatives included in the current article.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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