Radar tiss - An analysis of the implementation of health information exchange standards in Brazil

In Brazil, 25% of the population (46 million) have voluntary double coverage through private health insurance. This market comprises approximately 1870 Health Plans (HP) and health care providers, such as hospitals, clinics, laboratories and medical offices. Standardizing healthcare information systems allows possible interoperability and integration (Aguilar, 2005). The lack of information standards and the complexity of information exchange between HP and providers have led the Federal Regulatory Agency for Health Plans and Insurance (ANS) to elaborate a national standard for electronic health information exchange, known as TISS (“Troca de Informação em Saúde Suplementar”). It is expected that TISS enables improvement of billing, reduce authorisation timing, decreases HP and providers administrative costs enhance and conflict reduction. In order to evaluate TISS implementation, an impact assessment survey named “Radar TISS” has been carried out twice a year since 2007. The aim of this study is to present the Radar TISS results. The survey was conducted through an electronic questionnaire addressed to all medical HP. Important trends were observed like the unequal distribution of electronic information exchange throughout Brazilian regions, among the different modalities of HP and different sort of health providers. The southern region of the country had the largest number of electronic exchange in the period. Laboratories revealed to be the more advanced type of health providers in terms of electronic information exchange. Radar TISS proved to be an extreme important instrument to follow the nationwide electronic data exchange implementation. The authors believe that the systematic use of Radar TISS will help TISS players to improve the standard implementation, fulfilling the survey purpose.