Incorporation of information technology in Primary Care of SUS in North-eastern Brazil: expectations and experiences.

The incorporation of information technology (IT) via an electronic record of health data in primary care is transforming the organization of labor and professional practices in Brazil. The scope of this study is to establish the expectations and experiences of incorporating IT in the primary health care of the Unified Health System (SUS) with the implementation of the National Health Card System (SCNS). It involved qualitative research with 50 interviews and 96 questionnaires comparing the opinion of health professionals about technological innovation in locations with the SCNS and where it has not yet been incorporated in the cities of João Pessoa and Aracaju, respectively. The expectation was that IT would speed up the work schedule, which was not confirmed at the location where the SCNS had been incorporated. IT can improve labor organization, the flow of data and information and enable the digital insertion of the professional. The "light" technology of health care cannot be expedited by IT, as it is necessary to impart knowledge to the professionals. However, it can improve working conditions by data gathering and organization, giving immediate feedback to the professional recording the data and enhance the ability to manage health policies.

Incorporação da tecnologia da informação na Atenção Básica do SUS no Nordeste do Brasil: expectativas e experiências / Incorporation of information technology in Primary Care of SUS in North-eastern Brazil: expectations and experiences

Resumo A incorporação de tecnologia da informação por meio do registro eletrônico de dados em saúde na atenção básica transforma a organização do trabalho e as práticas profissionais. O objetivo deste estudo é conhecer as expectativas e a experiência da informatização nos serviços de atenção básica do SUS na implantação do Sistema Cartão Nacional de Saúde (SCNS), Cartão SUS. Pesquisa qualitativa, que compara, por meio de 50 entrevistas e 96 questionários, a opinião dos profissionais de saúde sobre a inovação tecnológica, em locais “Sem” e “Com” o SCNS, nos municípios de João Pessoa (Paraíba) e de Aracaju (Sergipe), respectivamente. Há expectativa de que a informatização reduz o tempo para execução do trabalho, o que não foi confirmado pelo local informatizado. A informatização traz melhorias na organização do trabalho, para os usos da informação e possibilita a inserção digital do profissional. A tecnologia “leve” da atividade de cuidado da saúde não é reproduzida pela informatização, a qual aumenta a necessidade de incorporação de saberes aos profissionais, melhora as condições de trabalho, organiza a coleta de dados, aproxima os usos da informação por quem os registrou, e amplia a capacidade de gestão das políticas de saúde.

Abstract The incorporation of information technology (IT) via an electronic record of health data in primary care is transforming the organization of labor and professional practices in Brazil. The scope of this study is to establish the expectations and experiences of incorporating IT in the primary health care of the Unified Health System (SUS) with the implementation of the National Health Card System (SCNS). It involved qualitative research with 50 interviews and 96 questionnaires comparing the opinion of health professionals about technological innovation in locations with the SCNS and where it has not yet been incorporated in the cities of João Pessoa and Aracaju, respectively. The expectation was that IT would speed up the work schedule, which was not confirmed at the location where the SCNS had been incorporated. IT can improve labor organization, the flow of data and information and enable the digital insertion of the professional. The “light” technology of health care cannot be expedited by IT, as it is necessary to impart knowledge to the professionals. However, it can improve working conditions by data gathering and organization, giving immediate feedback to the professional recording the data and enhance the ability to manage health policies.

Epilepsy and social security: general aspects of the insured claimants and medical decisions.

BACKGROUND: Epilepsy affects adults at productive age and interferes with their ability to work. However, the granting of social security benefits to these patients has not received sufficient attention. This article aims to provide a profile of individuals with a previous diagnosis of epilepsy that file claims for social security benefits and a profile of the medical advisory decisions that support the concession of these benefits. PARTICIPANTS: A sample of thirty individuals with illness-related problems due to epilepsy was selected from the claimants that receive Social Security Incapacity/Sickness benefits. METHODS: An exploratory data analysis of the 188 Social Security medical files of the thirty claimants was performed using the clinical and epidemiological information and the medical advisory criteria. RESULTS: The mean age of the claimants was 39 years and most of them were males in jobs that do not require a lot of schooling. The first claim was filed within an average of four years of employment. On average, each worker files a claim every three months, which entitles him/her to receive incapacity/sickness benefits for seventeen months. The frequency of seizures and the medications used by the claimants were registered in 60% of the medical files. In addition, the description of the physical and neurological exam was incomplete in 50% of the files. Furthermore, 60% of the files did not include the argument or the clinical evidence that was used to justify the concession of a benefit. CONCLUSION: The medical advisory decisions on epileptic workers tend to be inconsistent, overly lenient and generally lacking in clinical evidence. The disparities among the granted benefits indicate the need for the National Social Security System to review and draft specific guidelines for epilepsy.

Epilepsia e Previdência Social: a decisão médico-pericial / Epilepsy and Social Security: the medical decision making on disability compensation

A maior dificuldade encontrada no manejo de pacientes com epilepsia frente aos seguros saúde é que, apesar de todo o aparato tecnológico de que se dispõe atualmente, o diagnóstico continua sendo predominantemente clínico, não havendo critérios objetivos na definição da incapacidade laborativa. Este ensaio tem como propósito discutir necessidades e parâmetros e apresentar uma proposta de aperfeiçoamento de relatório a ser preenchido pelo médico assistente a fim de traçar estratégias para que o perito médico defina, com maior segurança, a incapacidade laborativa em segurados portadores de epilepsia. A proposta discute aspectos relacionados a diagnóstico, tratamento e prognóstico, assim como fatores que interferem na capacidade de trabalho, visando auxiliar a decisão médico-pericial acerca da concessão ou não de benefícios.

Regarding health insurances, the major difficulty in handling patients with epilepsy is that the diagnosis is basically clinical, and there is not a totally objective criteria to define work incapacity, even with all the existing modern technology. In this essay we discuss needs and parameters, propose guidelines for the report filled up by assistant physicians, and formulate strategies to help medical experts defining work incapacity for workers with epilepsy, with a greater margin of accuracy. We discuss aspects related to diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and list facts that can eventually interfere in the ability to work, contributing for medical experts to decide whether they should or not grant disability benefits.

Facilidades e dificuldades da implantacao do registro eletronico de dados nos servicos de atencao basica a saude / Facilitates and difficult of implantation of the Eletronic Health Record in healht primary care services

O Registro Eletronico de dados em saude (RES) adotado no projeto do Sistema Cartao Nacional de Saude(SCNS)modificou as praticas profissionais nos municipios pilotos e explicou conflitos relacionados a mudanca da rotina do trabalho, uma problematica que motivou a realizacao desta pesquisa. Desta forma, os objetivos foram estudar os fatores dificultadores e facilitadores relacionados aos processos de trabalho dos profissionais da atencao basica do SUS na incorporacao do RES,e levantar as caracteristicas das atividades e processos do registro de dados em saude, da organizacao, dos fluxos e do ambiente de trabalho, para orientar a expansao do RES a outros municipios. A estrategia metodologica consistiu em realizar estudo exploratorio pelo levantamento de dados em unidades de saude da atencao basica, investigando-se a opiniao dos profissionais, em locais ``Com`` e ``Sem`` o SCNS, tendo sido escolhidos o caso piloto exemplar do SCNS, Aracaju (SE) e um caso ``controle``, sem SCNS, Joao Pessoa (PB). Foram realizadas 50 entrevistas e aplicados 96 questionarios com profissionais de saude...