The Sociedade Brasileira de Informática em Saúde (Brazilian Society of Health Informatics), abbreviated as SBIS, is a

professional society A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) is a group that usually seeks to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that prof ...

created in November 1986 in

Campinas Campinas (, ''Plains'' or ''Meadows'') is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in São Paulo (state), São Paulo State, part of the country's Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeast Region. According to the 2020 estimate, the city's popul ...

, during the First Brazilian Congress on Health Informatics. It has the mission of promoting the development and the interchange of ideas and results in the fields devoted to the

information technologies Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data and information processing, and storage. Information technolo ...

applied to the

health sciences The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to health sciences: Health sciences – those sciences that focus on health, or health care, as core parts of their subject matter. Health sciences relate to multiple a ...

(

Medical informatics Health informatics combines communications, information technology (IT), and health care to enhance patient care and is at the forefront of the medical technological revolution. It can be viewed as a branch of engineering and applied science. ...

, Telemedicine,

Bioinformatics Bioinformatics () is an interdisciplinary field of science that develops methods and Bioinformatics software, software tools for understanding biological data, especially when the data sets are large and complex. Bioinformatics uses biology, ...

, etc.).

Mission and areas of interest

SBIS is a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

membership organization of individuals and institutions interested in developing and using information technologies to improve health care in Brazil. To accomplish its goal, SBIS may develop the following activities: * Stimulate

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

al activities related to

health informatics Health informatics combines communications, information technology (IT), and health care to enhance patient care and is at the forefront of the medical technological revolution. It can be viewed as a branch of engineering and applied science. ...

; * Stimulate

scientific research The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has been referred to while doing science since at least the 17th century. Historically, it was developed through the centuries from the ancient and medieval world. The ...

and technical development in Health Informatics; * Organize

conferences A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

symposium In Ancient Greece, the symposium (, ''sympósion'', from συμπίνειν, ''sympínein'', 'to drink together') was the part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was accompanied by music, dancing, recitals, o ...

s, courses, seminars, and other activities that lead to experience and knowledge exchange; * Cooperate with sister societies; * Contribute to the definition of

healthcare Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

policies; * Promote Health Informatics as a means to reduce costs and improve the

quality Quality may refer to: Concepts *Quality (business), the ''non-inferiority'' or ''superiority'' of something *Quality (philosophy), an attribute or a property *Quality (physics), in response theory *Energy quality, used in various science discipli ...

of healthcare services. Some of SBIS areas of interest are: * Health information systems *

Health information management Health information management (HIM) is information management applied to health and health care. It is the practice of analyzing and protecting digital and traditional medical information vital to providing quality patient care. With the widespr ...

Electronic patient record An electronic health record (EHR) is the systematized collection of electronically stored patient and population health information in a digital format. These records can be shared across different health care settings. Records are shared thro ...

* Telemedicine and

telehealth Telehealth is the distribution of Health care, health-related services and information via electronic information and telecommunications, telecommunication technologies. It allows long-distance patient and clinician contact, care, advice, reminde ...

* Medical decision support systems * Biological signal processing * Medical image processing * Internet applications in health * Health information standards * Health informatics education * Distance education in health Currently it has around 780 associates, thus being the third largest in the Americas, after the

American Medical Informatics Association The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), is an American non-profit organization dedicated to the development and application of biomedical and health informatics in the support of patient care, teaching, research, and health care ad ...

and the Canada's Health Informatics Association, and the largest in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

, according to the International Medical Informatics Association. The Society is affiliated to the

International Medical Informatics Association The International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) is an independent organization that plays a role in promoting and furthering the application of information science in modern society, particularly in the fields of healthcare, bioscience ...

since 1988.

Governance

The current Executive Board (2008–2010) is led by Dr. Cláudio Giulliano Alves da Costa (President). Former presidents were: Roberto J. Rodrigues, Renato M.E. Sabbatini, Mariza Machado Klück, Beatriz de Faria Leão, Daniel Sigulem, Umberto Tachinardi, Lincoln de Assis Moura Jr. and Heimar de Fátima Marin. Short histories of Health Informatics in Brazil have been published elsewhere by former presidents of the Society.

Conferences and Meetings

SBIS organizes since 1986 a biannual national conference, the Brazilian Congress of Health Informatics and a biannual specialized conference on

Electronic Health Record An electronic health record (EHR) is the systematized collection of electronically stored patient and population health information in a digital format. These records can be shared across different health care settings. Records are shared thro ...

s (PEP); besides other, smaller and less periodical meetings. The Brazilian Congress on Health Informatics takes place in different cities every two years and has as its main subjects the applications of

information technology Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...

and

telematics Telematics is an interdisciplinary field encompassing telecommunications, vehicular technologies (road transport, road safety, etc.), electrical engineering (sensors, instrumentation, wireless communications, etc.), and computer science (multimedia ...

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

nursing Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the Human tooth, teeth, gums, and Human mouth, mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, dis ...

and allied

health care Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

sciences, from the point of view of the expert scientific and technical worker in these areas. The first conference was organized in November 1986, in the city of

by Dr. Renato M.E. Sabbatini. The vice-president was Dr. Hugo Sabatino, and the editor-in-chief of the Conference's proceedings was Dr. Renato G.G. Terzi, all with the

Medical School A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

at the same university. During this conference, the Brazilian Society of Health Informatics was launched, as well as the ''Brazilian Journal of Health Informatics''. The conference was then repeated in 1988 (

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

), 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996 (

Campos do Jordão Campos do Jordão () is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in southeastern Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Vale do Paraíba e Litoral Norte. The population is 52,405 (2020 est.) in an area of . The city is situated above ...

), 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004 (

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

), 2006 (

Florianópolis Florianópolis () is the capital and second largest city of the state of Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, in the South Region, Brazil, South region of Brazil. The city encompasses Santa Catarina Island and surrounding small islands, as we ...

) and 2008 (Campos do Jordão). The next conference will be held in November 2010, in

Porto de Galinhas Porto de Galinhas is a beach in the municipality of Ipojuca, Pernambuco, Brazil. Porto de Galinhas is a major tourist destination. The beach is famous for its bright-water beaches and the natural pools. It is part of the municipality of Ipojuca ...

Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...

Publications

SBIS' flagship

periodical Periodical literature (singularly called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) consists of Publication, published works that appear in new releases on a regular schedule (''issues'' or ''numbers'', often numerically divided into annu ...

is the on-line

scientific journal In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication designed to further the progress of science by disseminating new research findings to the scientific community. These journals serve as a platform for researchers, schola ...

, '' Journal of Health Informatics'' (Heimar Marin, Editor-in-Chief). It also publishes ''SBIS News'', an electronic bulletin hosted by

Yahoo! Groups Yahoo! Groups was a free-to-use system of Electronic mailing list, electronic mailing lists offered by Yahoo!. Prior to February 2020, Yahoo! Groups was one of the world's largest collections of online discussion boards. It allowed members to s ...

( Renato M.E. Sabbatini, editor-in-chief), and coordinates the SBIS-L e-mail discussion list.

Electronic Health Record Certification Project

In collaboration with the Brazilian

Federal Council of Medicine The Conselho Federal de Medicina (CFM, Portuguese for ''Federal Council of Medicine'') is the Brazilian independent public agency of the Ministry of Work and Employment officially in charge of professional regulation and medical licensing in the ...

since 2007, SBIS has developed one of few programs in the developing world geared towards the software certification in the area of electronic health records. The standards for access,

information security Information security is the practice of protecting information by mitigating information risks. It is part of information risk management. It typically involves preventing or reducing the probability of unauthorized or inappropriate access to data ...

digital certification In cryptography, a public key certificate, also known as a digital certificate or identity certificate, is an electronic document used to prove the validity of a public key. The certificate includes the public key and information about it, inform ...

, patient

confidentiality Confidentiality involves a set of rules or a promise sometimes executed through confidentiality agreements that limits the access to or places restrictions on the distribution of certain types of information. Legal confidentiality By law, la ...

, storage of records, etc., have been discussed together and officially approved by a number of decrees enforced by CFM and are part now of a Manual, a course for buildup of a task force of specialized consultants. The certification standards cover ambulatory healthcare, clinical laboratory and other areas, and in the future will be expanded for inpatient health records and Picture archiving and communication system.

Professional Education

In 2008 the Society approved the creation of a new initiative and a directorship to boost educational activities in health informatics. A website and a Learning Management System based on

Moodle Moodle ( ) is a free and open-source learning management system written in PHP and distributed under the GNU General Public License. Moodle is used for blended learning, distance education, flipped classroom and other online learning project ...

server were created in 2009 (addres

. The site is used to support presential courses as well as to offer purely distance courses, seminars, lectures, and other educational activities. The site has also a

digital library A digital library (also called an online library, an internet library, a digital repository, a library without walls, or a digital collection) is an online database of digital resources that can include text, still images, audio, video, digital ...

with on-line references to papers, reviews,

e-book An ebook (short for electronic book), also spelled as e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in electronic form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Al ...

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms, such as Text (literary theory), writing, Sound, audio, images, animations, or video, into a single presentation. T ...

files, etc., which are deemed useful for education and learning purposes. In addition, webconferencing facilities using DimDim have been added and can be used by associated individuals and institutions.

Professional Certificate in Health Informatics

In October 2009 the Society launched a program for certificating health care professionals as specialists, in a manner similar to medical specialties coordinated by the

Brazilian Medical Association The Brazilian Medical Association () founded in 1951, is the national class association of physicians in Brazil. With more than 140,000 associates, it is the second largest in the Americas, just after the American Medical Association. Its official ...

and the

in Brazil. The program entails a minimum list of technical proficiency, a written and oral annual examination, and the issue of a certificate which is valid for five years. The revalidation of the certificate will be mandatory by means of

continuing education Continuing education is the education undertaken after initial education for either personal or professional reasons. The term is used mainly in the United States and Canada. Recognized forms of post-secondary learning activities within the d ...

credits. The Society installed also an educational

accreditation Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

program in place, for recognizing courses and

curricula In education, a curriculum (; : curriculums or curricula ) is the totality of student experiences that occur in an educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view of the student's experi ...

in health informatics, for this purpose, with a point-based system of credits. The entire program is under the responsibility of a new Directorship of Professional Education, coordinated by Prof. Renato M.E. Sabbatini.

References

External links

SBIS Home Page

Journal of Health Informatics Home Page

Distance Education Site

Email Discussion Group

Electronic news bulletin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brazilian Society Of Health Informatics Medical and health organisations based in Brazil Health informatics and eHealth associations Organisations based in Campinas