Electronic health record: contributions to new organizational models in the public health sector

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze the Electronic Health Registries, belonging to hospitalized patients, in a care unit of a public hospital in Portugal. Methods: Data were used for the year 2014 and 2015, referring to 668 patients, with 14,001 days of hospitalization, 4,123 diagnoses and 614,634 interventions, so we can consider the robust empirical analysis. Results: In both years, it is well known that the data are well approximated by exponential functions, which is mirrored by the extremely high coefficients of determination obtained for each case. This has the implication that most of the effective work of nurses in this care unit comes from a small number of intervention types, and it is possible to argue, in a way analogous to what was verified for the diagnoses, which has important impacts at the management level. Conclusions: Data analysis revealed potential for the creation of indicators and quality analysis. The Electronic Health Registers allow the measurement of results and also the identification of best clinical practices associated with these results, and should be seen as a management and research tool that can support work processes and innovation in the delivery of care.