895

MEDINFO 2015: eHealth-enabled Health

I.N. Sarkar et al. (Eds.)
2015 IMIA and IOS Press.
This article is published online with Open Access by IOS Press and distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License.
doi:10.3233/978-1-61499-564-7-895

Impact of a mobile health aplication in the nursing care plan compliance of a home care
service in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Felipe A. de Brittoa, Tatiana B. Martinsb, Gustavo A. P. Landsberg c
a

Health Information Technology Management of Unimed BH, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

b
Home Care Management of Unimed BH, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
c
Health Information Technology Management in Unimed BH, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Abstract
Objective: To assess impact of a mobile health solution in the
nursing care plan compliance of a home care service.
Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed with
3,036 patients. Compliance rates before and after the
implementation were compared. Results: After the
implementation of a mobile health aplication, compliance
with the nursing care plan increased from 53% to 94%. The
system reduced IT spending, increased the nursing team
efficiency and prevented planned hiring. Conclusion: The use
of a mobile health solution with geolocating feature by a
nursing home care team increased compliance to the care
plan.
Keywords:
Home Care Services; Patient Care Planning.

Introduction
Managing a home care team and evaluating compliance to the
nursing care plan has always been a difficult task, due to the
scope, geographical distribution and number of professionals
involved. Studies show that the frequency of home visits by
health professionals significantly impacts in hospital-free time
of the patient [3]. The objective of this study was to assess the
impact of a mobile health solution on the nursing care plan
compliance by a home care service.

vastly improved, increasing to 78%. After the implementation

of the second phase in August 2014, nursing care plan
compliance reached 94% between September and November
2014. During this period there was a small decrease of
average portfolio patients compared with the previous three
months (Table 1). This decrease was the result of hiring new
workers in August and September. The company had
forecasted nurse hirings for October and November in order to
match the increasing number of patients, but as the rate of
nursing care plan compliance reached satisfactory levels, the
hiring of additional nurses was not deemed necessary.
Table 1 Compliance with care plan after the implementation

Period
Dec/13- Feb/14
Mar/14-May/14
Jun/14-Aug/14
Sep/14- Nov/14

Compliance
with care
plan
78%
79%
81%
94%

Average
patients in
the portfolio
65
65
64
63

Average
daily
visits
3.28
3.32
3.49
3.59

Discussion
The implementation of a mobile solution made clinical data
in-puts easier and clinical nursing processes simpler to control. It increased compliance with the plan of care indicators,
reduced IT spending, increased the team average production
capacity and prevented planned hires.

Methods
Conclusion
A retrospective cohort study was performed with the data
from 3,036 patients treated between December 2013 and
November 2014 by the Unimed-BH Home Care Program. All
patients treated by the nurses with a Case Management care
plan during this time period were considered eligible. The
information on patients whose nurse visit interval was shorter
than 35 days was extracted from the database of the
care/administrative system, and compliance to the nursing
care plan before and after the mHealth tool implementation
was compared.

Results
Before the implementation of the mobile solution, care plan
compliance rates were assessed quadrimestrally and were as
low as 53% from January to April 2013 and 54% from May to
August 2013. After the first phase of implementation, in
November 2013, nursing care program compliance rates were

The increasing usage of home care programs as an alternative

to hospital-centered model creates complex problems that
require new solutions. The use of mobile health tools may
help to increase the compliance to the care plan by making
patient's portfolio easier to manage and enable better planning
for future visits.

References
[1] Bisione F.M., et al. Cad. Sade Pblica vol.29 supl.1 Rio
de Janeiro: Avaliao da efetividade da ateno domiciliar
de uma cooperativa mdica de Belo Horizonte, Minas
Gerais, Brasil, 2013.
Address for correspondence
Felipe Arajo de Britto felipebritto@gmail.com