Brazilian healthcare CIOs plan IoT boost
A boost in investments around Internet of Things (IoT) technologies is expected for the next two years in healthcare in Brazil despite the challenges faced by the sector, according to research.
According to the study carried out by Frost & Sullivan in partnership with Brazilian Association Health CIO (ABCIS), there is a growing interest in IoT as a means to enhance clinical decision making among technology heads in the country's hospitals and other healthcare service providers.
Currently, only 8 percent of the healthcare chief information officers (CIOs) reported IoT technologies are in place at their organizations. However, 70 percent of those polled plan on introducing the technologies to their portfolios within the next two years.
However, there are challenges involved. Despite the clear advantages that technology innovation can provide in healthcare, the Frost study suggests that CIOs in the sector struggle with extremely tight budgets.
About 58 percent of the CIOs in healthcare organizations in Brazil manage budgets ranging between 250,000 to 1 million reais ($63,000 - $252,000), with operating expenses being often greater than capital expenditure.
Almost half of the study participants (47 percent) report insufficient budgets is their biggest hurdle to innovation, though nearly 80 percent expect their budgets to increase.
Technical difficulties were also mentioned in the study, relating to areas such as digitization, the adoption of electronic patient record platforms and system interoperability.
The study covered 101 chief information officers across Brazil, of which 23,8 percent operate in the public sector while the remaining works for private organizations.