Tecnologias digitais da informação e comunicação em saúde: um estudo sobre o prontuário eletrônico do paciente como instrumento à gestão da informação nos hospitais de Maceió

Abstract

In today's society, there is a growing need to record and manage the information produced from established social relations. In the scenario of hospital services, significant advances have impacted activities through the use of Digital Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Scientific progress has resulted in benefits for society, but the inadequate development of new services in the use of technologies has raised questions about the consequences of production without taking into account control. Numerous issues need to be rethought. The occurrence of the mass of documents added to the lack of investment in the archiving, preservation and management of medical records have been worrying factors in the Brazilian scenario. To meet the informational reality, hospitals in Maceió have been investing in the acquisition of TDICs and in the creation of technological tools, such as the Electronic Patient Record (EHR). Thus, the question arises: how are Electronic Patient Records present and adequate for information management in hospitals in Maceió? It aims to characterize the presence and adequacy of Electronic Patient Records for information management in Maceió Hospitals. Methodologically, this study is characterized as exploratory in nature with a quantitative-qualitative approach. It is used bibliographic and documentary research and information collection in the hospital network in Maceió. As results and discussions, 36 (thirty-six) – 97% of the hospitals in Maceió and their respective types of medical records – were mapped.The study allowed us to understand that most of the medical records of the hospital network in Maceió have systems already consolidated not only in Maceió but also at the national level, however, it is still necessary to modernize hospitals that use paper medical records, since the real advantages of the EHR contribute to information management.It was possible to conclude that Electronic Patient Records are fundamental instruments for hospitals in promoting the quality of care for patients and creating a future of health treatment in a more personalized, interactive and humanized way.