USE OF TECHNOLOGICAL TOOLS IN HOME PATIENT CARE AND CLINIC MANAGEMENT IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE (PHC): AN EXPERIENCE REPORT

Abstract

Chronic conditions tend to evolve in a cycle of worsening symptoms that progressively reduces people's functionality, requiring care strategies that ensure continuity. Home care, as a substitute or complementary modality, allows interventions in the patient's environment and contributes to the comprehensiveness of care. Health Information Systems (HIS) play an essential role in organizing flows, supporting management, and improving the quality of health actions. This experience report describes the work of a Family Health Strategy team in a peripheral area of ​​Northeast Brazil, which developed its own technological tool to improve the management of home care between April 2019 and December 2020. The initiative arose from the need to overcome limitations of the available official system, VIDA+, considered inadequate to meet local demands. The tool allowed for the classification of patients, the organization of clinical management, and the highlighting of weaknesses in the home care network of the municipality of Salvador. Computerization facilitated the management of the schedule, the continuity of actions, and easier access to information by care groups. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the use of technology proved even more relevant in supporting decision-making in a crisis context. Experience shows that information systems need to be adapted to the reality of services and that their effectiveness depends on a structured and integrated healthcare network.