Users “can’t handle” SNS latency

User perceptions of the evolution of the NHS over the past decade are positive, but this idea is not accompanied by their judgment of waiting times for consultations, tests and emergencies, which they believe has worsened.

According to the Sustainability Index developed by the Nova Information Management School (Nova IMS) and presented this Tuesday in Lisbon, 38% believe that compared to 10 years ago, SNS is better, but there is no waiting period on the lists. positive evolution.

The study, which for the first time this year presents data on Portuguese perceptions of the evolution of social media over the past decade and expectations for the next 10 years, shows that 47.8% believe waiting times in emergency rooms are longer, 31.3% say that the expectation of operations has worsened, and 37.3% share the same opinion regarding the waiting for appointments.

“People generally think that SNS has developed positively, over 60% believe that it has developed positively, but then when we look at waiting times, whether in terms of consultations, surgeries or emergencies, (…) the vast majority believes that it has become even worse,” Pedro Simões Coelho explained to Luce.

The data shows that almost 50% of the population believe that waiting time in the emergency room has worsened, more than 30% believe that it has worsened for surgeries, and almost 40% that it has worsened for consultations.

The researcher talks about the duality of the results, explaining: “There is an SNS that is better on a global scale, but worse in terms of latency.”

The data shows that the Portuguese feel they are now expected to do more than they did 10 years ago in dealing with health problems, mostly justified by having better diagnostics and more innovative medicines.

In the case of the Portuguese, who believe that there are currently fewer hopes for solving health problems, the slower service times mainly contribute to this perception.

Almost half (48.6%) believe that SNS is currently better suited to prevent future diseases, mainly because it has better diagnostics (65.4%) and more innovative drugs (44%).

Those 15% who say that social networks are less focused on the prevention of future diseases indicate slow service as the main reason (51.1%).

More than half (53.6%) of Portuguese people have sought medical care in the past year to prevent illness, not because they are not feeling well.

More than three out of four (82.2%) believe they have enough information about their health status and what they should do to prevent disease, and the majority believe that investment in healthcare workers (61.6%) should be one of the SNA priorities, followed by plant and equipment (32.9%).

The study also shows that the perceived quality of a social network can increase by 16 points if the user has a family doctor (+11.4 points), is connected to the family health department (+2.5) and seeks medical help for prevention (+ 2.2). .

“This shows that the issue of primary care and the issue of the forms of organization of the SNA is very important for us to be able to create a paradigm shift in the system here,” the researcher believes, adding that in order to eliminate those who do not need it, “it is necessary to have access to primary health care that satisfies the people.”