By Lucy Tamborino
Photos ASA 400 Studio
Coordinated by Drs. César Higa Nomura, Conrado Furtado de Albuquerque Cavalcanti, Renato Adam Mendonça and Renato Hoffmann Nunes, the JPR 2025 Professionalism and Management session began on Thursday, May 1st.
The first part of the module was conducted by CBR – ABCDI. To strengthen oversight and ensure anonymity, CBR Clínicas launched a new reporting channel. The institution also defends the radiology category through public civil actions and positions itself as a defender against abuses by health insurance companies that refuse to comply with what the law and the regulations of the National Supplementary Health Agency (ANS) determine.
Examples of complaints cited include:
- Tables of exclusionary exams, contrary to CFM Resolution No. 1,627/2001;
- Obligation of operators to follow the TISS standard (RN 501);
- Abusive clauses in contracts, such as deducting the percentage increase in the average healthcare cost from one year to the next;
- Date of adjustment on the anniversary of the contract – the adjustment must be applied annually from the anniversary date of the contract and not 12 months from the last adjustment.
“Those are some examples of complaints that may be considered ‘easy’, but we are interested. Report them. The strategy is to start with the complaints channel regionally and consolidate it nationally,” explained Carlos Eduardo Ferreira.
Continuing the session, Valério Augusto Ribeiro, CBR Legal Advisor, highlighted the role of the Professional Defense Commission, which works with doctors and institutions such as medical clinics, hospitals and imaging diagnostic services.
The professional filed several emblematic public civil actions that demonstrated the power of the CBR to act and obtain favorable decisions in preventing abuses against the category. A notable example was the case of the doctor who, by recording videos denying the existence of breast cancer, contradicted scientific evidence.
“The Professional Defense Commission is interested in the professional prerogatives of radiologists’ fees; it presents itself as an efficient protection mechanism,” he analyzed.
Abramed: the role of innovation and sustainability in Health
Healthcare, despite its strategic importance, has not internalized the economies of scale observed in other sectors, such as industrialization and democratization, and operates in an ‘artisanal’ manner. This is what Bruno Matos Porto, partner-leader of the Healthcare sector at PwC Brazil, pointed out, continuing the presentations.
According to him, this technological transformation stems from the need to work with a complex equation: “scale = cost reduction + access”. New technologies must advance so that innovation is actually useful. He mentions, in general terms, trends such as the robotization of services and the hospital of the future.
Technology and culture trends in radiology, according to the speaker:
- Integration of AI (pattern detection, prioritization, error reduction, automation of repetitive tasks);
- More clinical radiology (therapeutic planning, multidisciplinarity);
- Increasingly advanced imaging technology (new less invasive technologies, stronger emphasis on prevention/prediction and screening versus relevance).
To lead in the healthcare sector, it will be essential to adopt agile models and technologies such as artificial intelligence, with a focus on efficiency, access and innovation.
CEOs must rethink priorities, invest in talent and develop solutions focused on preventive, digital and sustainable health – overcoming the artisanal model.
Imaging diagnosis: good practices, challenges and sustainability
During the panel, several experts drew attention to the challenges and responsibilities of innovation. Among them, acting responsibly in the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare.
Dr. Edgar Rizzatti, President of the Medical-Technical Business Unit for Hospitals and New Links at Grupo Fleury, highlighted that innovation should not be seen as a cost, but rather as a generator of value — clinical, healthcare, operational and economic.
Artificial intelligence would be a “second pair of eyes”, capable of avoiding unnecessary repetition of exams and predicting adverse conditions, for example.
Dr. Marcelo Abreu, a radiologist and preceptor at SIR/Hospital Mãe de Deus, criticized the indiscriminate use of technologies without the proper regulatory and scientific basis. “During the pandemic, there was a lot of liberalization and companies made a lot of progress — we didn’t hold back. Today, many artificial intelligences wouldn’t pass a rigorous audit,” he argues. He adds: “A business without regulation is not a business.”
Antonio Fernando Lins de Paiva, a specialist in Thoracic Radiology at the Instituto do Coração (InCor), stressed that team training is essential to map processes and failures. Professional training is a key factor in ensuring the safe and effective use of new technologies.
During his participation, Dr. Cesar Higa Nomura, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Abramed, shared a recent visit to China – a health unit performs around 6,000 exams per day, with an average of 300 exams per machine. Finally, he warned about the obstacles to public health in Brazil: “The system is underfunded. It is very difficult to manage in this scenario.”
ICOS: How to balance the cost of innovation in practice?
Promoted by the Instituto Coalizão Saúde (ICOS), the debate that closed the module on Thursday addressed the future of the health system. Experts discussed the need to balance costs, technology and patient satisfaction – without ignoring the dynamics of the industry with the specific challenges of health.
The session was attended by Dr. César Nomura; Dr. Conrado Cavalcante, Medical Director of Amil; Rafael Latini, Structured Business Manager at CASSI; and Manuel Coelho Filho, Strategic Marketing Executive at Siemens. The event was moderated by Denise Eloi, CEO of ICOS.
“Technology can be more expensive, but the value needs to be analyzed: what benefit can it bring to the patient’s well-being and the cost/effectiveness ratio?”, analyzed Manuel Coelho Filho.
The importance of customer evaluation and service quality was a constant theme, with a call to differentiate providers based on results, as opposed to valuing them through models such as fee for service.
Financial and healthcare sustainability was identified as a challenge, with the suggestion of integrating the public and private sectors to expand access and optimize the system. The need for a collaborative and constructive environment to face the challenges of healthcare in Brazil was a central point.
