Brazilian Heart Insufficiency with Telemedicine (BRAHIT)

The aim of BRAHIT is to showcase a collaboration model between cardiologists and the primary health system regarding management of patients with heart failure in Rio de Janeiro, globalizable to cardiology care in Brazil.

Rationale

Brazil faces challenges in guaranteeing timely and good quality healthcare for all. Health administration in Brazil is divided into planning areas, often formed by existing neighborhoods, and the expansion of the Primary healthcare system has occurred in a heterogeneous way.

The heterogeneity in Primary care, has created a great resistance among the population and among the specialists themselves, to allow patients to be transferred to Primary healthcare. This transfer is further challenged by health professionals being managed by different administrations. This is the case for cardiology care in Rio de Janeiro where the federal authorities (Ministry of Health) are responsible for most of the highly specialized treatment in the hospitals, while municipalities administrate Primary healthcare programs. This leads to fragmentation of the management of patients with heart diseases, resulting in longer waiting times for specialized medical treatment.

Such a sector fragmentation is also an ongoing problem in Denmark, as, like in Brazil, the administration of the hospitals (Danish regions) is not the same as in the Primary sector (municipalities).

We have chosen the case of patients with heart failure because we can apply well-defined international guidelines for high quality management of heart failure patients as success criteria, that have been endorsed, and adapted in Brazil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Group leader

Coordinator
Helena Dominguez
Associate Professor, Consultant

Phone: +45 3533 0718
lamora@sund.ku.dk