Structuring of the Brazilian Public Health System and the Development of Telehealth Activities in Brazil

Abstract

This article intends to describe the structuring process of telehealth activities in Brazil within the context of the evolution of health care policies. It will particularly focus on the implementation of the family health program, which is the principal area addressed by the national telehealth program currently in progress in the country. By creating the National Health System, the Constitution of 1988 set in motion a long process of restructuring the country’s public health system. This process which began in 1994 used the family health program as the main strategy to guide the health care model. In turn, this generated a series of important challenges that would be necessary to overcome in order to consolidate such a program. Important milestones in the country’s national health care policies are listed and correlated with the growth of the family health program. The development of telehealth activities in the public arena in Brazil is described, situating the beginning of this initiative as well as the challenges and characteristics inherent to it. This process culminated in the establishment of a bold national telehealth program focused on primary care in 2007. The implementation of the national telehealth program is treated as an important component in the restructuring of Brazil’s public health network.