Brazil is actively seeking a complete transformation in its digital health care access. While Brazil currently offers a universal health care system, it does not always reach everyone who needs care when they need it. 

To help ease access to health care services, Brazil has prioritized digital healthcare in advancing its medicinal practices. Telemedicine, prescription services and electronic health records are the main focus of Brazil’s goals for digital health care. Increased convenience and accessibility are important to maintaining a relationship between patients and health care providers, and Brazil wants to bring this relationship right to its people’s fingertips. Here are three free apps currently working to improve digital health care in Brazil.

3 Free Apps Improving Digital Health Care in Brazil

1. Conecte SUS – Conecte SUS is a platform that increases access to health records and communication between health centers. It is a central point in Brazil’s health care program, providing users with free medical news and continued health care provisions. It stores a patient’s health records from every point of their life, attainable to the patient and any health care professional they seek while providing more immediate communication between the user and the health professional. While its primary use in development was related to improving health during the COVID-19 outbreak, it remains Brazil’s number one most-downloaded health care app. The WHO sought the Brazilian government to design a system that would continuously improve digital health care in Brazil. Conecte SUS became the center for ensuring short and medium-term results for the people of Brazil. It is sustainable through every revision and update cycle, improving the outreach and inching closer to Brazil’s e-health strategy goals. By the end of 2023, the app will have helped to achieve all e-health goals suggested in 2017, such as an improved collaborative space for patients and providers. 
2. Natural Cycles – Natural Cycles is an app that identifies a woman’s menstrual cycle, focusing on her fertility window to limit the number of Zika-impacted pregnancies. The Zika virus remains an epidemic in Brazil, where they have reported over 100,000 cases after the international concern died down in 2016. Zika virus is especially dangerous for pregnant women. In addition to being dangerous to the health of the mother, it is linked to numerous birth defects that can lead to miscarriage or severe harm to the quality of life of the child. One of the defects, microcephaly, is when the baby is born with a small head or stops growing completely after birth. To prevent further Zika-related pregnancies, the Swedish app Natural Cycles is offering one million free subscriptions to Brazil in the hopes of aiding in controlling the Zika outbreak. It identifies a woman’s ovulation cycle, tracking her period and temperature and informing them of their fertility cycles. Studies determined that the app’s prediction system is accurate 99.95% of the time. 
3. Fique Vivo – Fique Vivo is a mental health app that intends to improve emotional health care access in Brazil. The application targets the prevention of self-harm and suicide. Fique Vivo is an NGO that improves mental health conditions in Brazil through digital-first aid. Digital health care in Brazil is significantly focused on physical health and well-being, leaving a gap in the concerns for mental health within the country. Fique Vivo has created an online platform that uses data from Brazil’s Ministry of Health to connect users to free mental health care, focusing on self-harm and suicide prevention care. The program’s ultimate goals are to limit the stigma of mental health in Brazil and provide assistance to those under severe emotional stress to prevent personal harm. Fique Vivo’s user base is largely female, with 73% of users being women and 72.8% being 20 to 64 years old. Fique Vivo hopes to increase the number of users ages 13 to 19 because this age range has shown increased self-harm and suicide, many of whom deal with violence and harm at home.

Looking Ahead

One of the challenges of online, digital health care apps is that they are not accessible to all socioeconomic statuses. Those who cannot afford a smartphone or personal computer may struggle to access these applications, and they become barred from the relief of having consistent, frequent health advice at the tips of their fingers. 

As the digital age continues to take over the globe, the online world and all its facets are increasingly becoming available to the public. With this, medical care and assistance also is increasingly becoming more accessible. Libraries and public-use electronics are also an option for increasing the reachability of medical care for lower-income families, and an increase in public digital access can relieve some of the stress of those who may not be able to afford the latest updates in technology. 

Digital health care in Brazil has been a main priority of health agencies. The past few years have seen an increase in digital health care use, offering both mental and physical well-being improvements and an increase in preventative care. Digital health care is improving the overall well-being of the people in Brazil, and it will only continue to grow with governmental support efforts. 

– Eden Ambrovich
Photo: Unsplash