A Gestão do Risco e da Qualidade na Segurança do Doente em Ambiente de Quebra dos Sistemas de Informação

Abstract

The National Health Service has technological and non-technological contingencies. Technological contingencies are based on plan B (information systems contingency plan), which is essential for dealing with the dependency and unavailability of health information systems.

The objectives include studying the implications of computer breakdowns in an emergency department, where it is estimated that these types of breakdowns in decision support platforms will have the greatest impact. It includes measuring the real consequences of a computer breakdown scenario in order to obtain an assessment of the constraints on both patient care and the work of professionals.

In order to work on this issue, we used a literature review and a mixed profile study: interviews in the workplace (qualitative method) and questionnaires (quantitative method). The interviews were key to finding out from the key informants the main constraints of the unavailability of computer systems. The questionnaire, on the other hand, provided an insight into the difficulties faced by each professional through a sample taken from the emergency department.

The conclusion was that the downtime of health information systems can lead to risk and loss of quality of care.

The main problems focus on the general delay in service, the lack of communication and training, the logistics of test results or clinical information for decision-making, the rigor required in document retrieval, and the recent problem of computer attacks.

It is hoped that the results of the study can be applied in a practical way in health units that have not yet addressed this issue. The main steps in creating value through application in the workplace will be diagnosing the methods described, understanding the causes and defining a strategy. All these steps refer to the PDCA cycle of redesigning and updating processes, as well as strengthening the training of professionals.