Health Systems in Transition

Health systems in transition

Portugal

Table 4.5

MRI and CT examinations per 1000 population in latest available year, 2013

Item

Portugal

OECD

MRI examinations

CT examinations

141

120

Source

: OECD, 2015b.

Notes

Examinations outside hospitals not included;

Data for MRI examinations include 28 OECD

countries (Italy, Japan, Latvia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden are not included) and for

CT examinations include 27 countries (Estonia, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway

and Sweden are not included).

4.1.4 Information technology and eHealth

In 2015, 71% of the families in Portugal had a computer. Moreover, 70.2% of the

families had access to the Internet, of which 98% were broadband connections

(INE, 2016a).

The ACSS (Central Administration of the Health System) is the service at the

Ministry of Health responsible, in a centralized manner, for the study, guidance,

assessment and implementation of IT, and for financial management of the

NHS. Established in 2007, one of the main goals of ACSS was to develop an

information system and the infrastructure needed to support it. Additionally, it

also aims to effectively and rationally manage available economic and financial

resources. The ACSS made available to all citizens a fair amount of information

on hospitals, primary care centres and other NHS institutions and projects.

The brand new website of the NHS, launched in February 2016, provides

important information on a regular basis, such as waiting list of patients

registered for surgery, waiting times for emergency visits at NHS hospitals

or outpatient consultations both at NHS hospitals and primary care units,

and performance indicators for the Ministry of Health. Additionally, the new

website offers the possibility of booking a visit at NHS primary care units and

inserting personal medical information – for example immunization records,

allergies, medications (see section 2.5.1).

Over time, the ACSS produced several IT software applications for

registration and analysis of health unit activities. Additionally, the ACSS

manages the database of hospital admissions (based on DRGs). There have

been occasional attempts to implement electronic medical records, but this

approach has not yet been widely disseminated.