Last Friday, the Ministry of Health signed a technical cooperation agreement to implement the first smart hospital of the Unified Health System (SUS) at the Future Technological Emergency Institute of the Hospital das Clínicas of the University of São Paulo (HC-USP).
According to the ministry, the São Paulo state government, which is responsible for the university, will provide the land. The Ministry intends to soon complete the final stages of the ongoing investment request with the BRICS Bank to facilitate the construction of the project, worth R$1.7 billion.
The agreement signed by the Ministry of Health, the São Paulo State Government, the University of the South Pacific School of Medicine and the Hospital das Clínicas was the last document outstanding for final evaluation.
In addition to the unit in HC-USP, the government will implement a national network of high-precision health services, which includes 14 intensive care units (ICUs) in the five regions of the country and the modernization of premium units in Rio de Janeiro and the Federal District.
– The smart hospital and high-precision service network can only be achieved thanks to international cooperation involving development banks, strategic partners and research institutions. Brazil is aggressively entering this new global environment to reorganize health, where information technology, artificial intelligence and innovative practices are redesigning the way people are cared for, said Health Minister Alexandre Padilha.
Project creator and Professor of Emergency at the University of the South Pacific School of Medicine, Ludmila Hajjar, highlighted the importance of establishing smart hospitals in the country:
— The critically ill emergency patient is the one who will benefit most from these time-saving technologies, which will provide personalized treatments. This hospital is taking the leap toward patient-centered precision medicine. It is the SUS unit that will provide care efficiently and safely to patients with very complex cases.
According to the ministry, the proposal was submitted to the BRICS Bank in March. In October, Padilha was in China, where he signed technology cooperation agreements with Chinese institutions and presented the project to the bank to enhance financial support for the construction of the institute.
As O GLOBO showed, the center will be a reference in the field of digital health, combining advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, big data, telehealth, 5G-connected ambulances, hospital automation and predictive management systems. The goal is to make the service at SUS more efficient, fast, humane and technological.
The hospital unit will occupy an area of 150,000 square meters, with global standards for sustainability, safety and innovation. In total, there will be 800 beds, with a particular focus on emergency, intensive care and neurology. The hospital is expected to be ready within three years after financing is approved.
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