How to check on elderly parents in Brazil when you live abroad

For Brazilians in the US, Portugal, Japan or Europe: a daily WhatsApp check-in in Portuguese, SAMU 192, the SUS, and a local circle for the day they go quiet.

By the Athnova Care team · Updated 2026-10-02

Why families abroad worry about parents in Brazil

Millions of Brazilians live abroad — in Florida and Massachusetts, in Lisbon and Porto, in Japan, the UK and Italy — while their parents stay in São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Goiás or the North East. WhatsApp is already how these families talk every day.

A daily check-in turns that habit into a safety net: one message every morning, and a plan for the day it is not answered.

A daily check-in in Portuguese, on WhatsApp

Every morning, at the time you choose on their clock, your parent gets one WhatsApp message in Portuguese: did they take their morning medicines? They tap a button — "yes", "not yet" or "please call me" — and you see the answer in the family app.

Nothing to install and no password: the message arrives on the WhatsApp they already use, from a contact called Athnova Care. They can also send a photo of a blood-pressure reading, a prescription or a report at any time.

If the morning message is not answered, a reminder follows about three hours later, then a phone call in their language. If the calls go unanswered too, you are alerted, and then the neighbour or relative you chose is asked to check. The call reaches Brazil today.

Emergency numbers in Brazil

Save these in your own phone and in your parent's, and on the fridge. Messages from Athnova Care quote this number when your parent says they are unwell, and so does their emergency card.

Number	What it is for
192	SAMU — ambulance
193	Fire brigade (Corpo de Bombeiros), also for rescues
190	Police

We are not an emergency service. In an emergency, your parent or the person with them should call the local number first.

Build a local circle before you need it

Choose two people who can get to the house quickly — a sibling, a neighbour, the building’s porteiro, a friend from church — and save their numbers in the app.

Leave a key with one of them and make sure the emergency card has the full address with the bairro and a reference point, as the SAMU will ask for it.

Doctors, hospitals and medicines

Most older Brazilians use the SUS: the local health post (UBS) for routine care and the UPA or hospital for emergencies. If your parent has a private plan (plano de saúde), keep the card number on their emergency card.

The Farmácia Popular programme supplies some medicines for high blood pressure and diabetes free of charge with a prescription. Ask the UBS or pharmacy if your parent’s medicines are included.

The time difference

Brasília time is UTC−3 all year; Brazil stopped daylight saving in 2019. It is one or two hours ahead of the US East Coast, three or four hours behind Portugal, and twelve hours behind Japan.

What Athnova Care does and does not do in Brazil

Daily WhatsApp check-in in Portuguese or English, with the reply in your app.
A phone call in Portuguese when they go quiet.
Alerts to the whole family, then to the neighbour or relative you chose.
An emergency card with their address, medicines, allergies, doctor and contacts, ready to share with a hospital.
Medicine reminders, readings and reports kept in one place for the doctor.
Not offered there: lab tests and medicine refills, which we arrange in India only.

Questions families ask

Is the check-in in Portuguese?

Yes, in Brazilian Portuguese. The buttons, reminders and phone call are in Portuguese, and replies such as "já tomei" or "ainda não" are understood.

What is the emergency number for an ambulance in Brazil?

192, for the SAMU ambulance service. 193 is the fire brigade and 190 the police.

Does the phone call reach Brazil?

Yes. If the WhatsApp message goes unanswered, the reminder is followed by a phone call in Portuguese.

Athnova Care tracks and coordinates care. It does not diagnose, prescribe or replace a doctor. In a medical emergency in Brazil call 192.