As an example of this situation, Stumpf and Freitas (1997) reported the case of
the Clinical Hospital of Porto Alegre, which, at the end of the 1990s, stored 680,000
records in a 665-m2 area. The authors identified recurrent problems such as the low
quality of information, illegible descriptive notes, examinations glued to the records
(causing difficulties in checking the records of patients with long periods of
hospitalization), excessive use of paper, and inadequate storage. Such complications
make it difficult to handle these documents, with negative repercussions for patient care.