A integralidade das práticas dos médicos cubanos no Programa Mais Médicos na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

[More Doctors Program: a critical review of the implementation from the perspective of access and the universalization of health care]

The scope of this critical narrative review is the analysis of the national literature on the implementation of the More Doctors Program (PMM), from January 2016 to May 2019, distributed according to its three programmatic aspects: 1. Improvement of Infrastructure of the Primary Health Care Networks; 2. Expansion of Vacancies and Courses in Medicine and the Reform of Medical Education; and 3. Emergency Medical Supplies. After consulting the Scielo and Lilacs databases through the key words Programa Mais Médicos, and the English and Spanish equivalents, 37 articles were located, of which 31 were selected because they focused specifically on the implementation of one or more aspects. Aspect 1 had the lowest number of publications, while the highest concentration of articles occurred in aspects 2 and 3, in 2016 and 2019, respectively, depending on the timely implementation of the PMM. The literature analyzed points to successes and weaknesses in the formulation and implementation of the Program. This should be taken into consideration in the elaboration and execution of future projects, based on the expansion of access and the universalization of medical care to vulnerable populations.

Experience with coordination of care between primary care physicians and specialists and related factors

The article analyzes the coordination of information and clinical management between levels of care in physicians' experience and explores related labor and organizational factors and attitudes towards the work and interaction. This is a cross-sectional study with application of the COORDENA-BR questionnaire to a sample of 64 primary health care (PHC) physicians and 56 specialized care (SC) from the public system in a medium-sized Brazilian city. The results show limited linkage of care in the Healthcare Network (RAS), with differences between PHC and SC. There is no exchange of information on diagnosis, treatment, or tests. Physicians in PHC agree more on the treatments prescribed by the specialists than vice versa, but repetition of tests is not frequent. PHC physicians refer patients to SC when necessary. Most medical specialists do not refer patients for follow-up consultations in PHC when necessary and do not give orientation to PHC physicians, who in turn fail to resolve their doubts with SC. Both PHC and specialties report long waiting times for specialist consultations. Temporary employment contracts are more common in PHC. Consultation time was considered too short for coordination between the two. Most physicians do not plan to change jobs, despite their heavy dissatisfaction with wages and work. Physicians do not know each other personally, and specialists do not identify physicians in PHC as the coordinators of care. Policies and measures to guarantee structural conditions to improve access, working conditions, and more favorable mutual adaptation need to be implemented systemically to the set of services in the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS).

Public Health, HIV Care and Prevention, Human Rights and Democracy at a Crossroad in Brazil

On January 2019, Brazil's new far-right president Jair Bolsonaro was sworn into office. Bolsonaro's administration supports downsizing the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS), while increasing the size of the private health sector. The new administration might leave millions of Brazilians without medical care, including hundreds of thousands of people living with HIV/AIDS. Bolsonaro's administration, allied with a highly conservative Congress and sharp decreases in federal funding for public health, education and research, could jeopardize key health and human rights strategies focused on women, LGBTQ + individuals, Indigenous populations, and people living with HIV/AIDS.

[Awareness and use of mechanism for clinical coordination between levels in two health care networks in Pernambuco State, Brasil]

This article assesses awareness and use of mechanisms for clinical coordination between service levels in two health care networks in the Pernambuco State, Brasil. It is a descriptive, cross-sectional, survey-based study. We interviewed 381 doctors from the public primary health care and specialized health care networks in the cities of Caruaru and Recife (Sanitary Districts III and VII). We used a structured questionnaire (COORDENA) in order to assess awareness, frequency and characteristics of the use of the following mechanisms: referral and reply letters, discharge summary, phone and notes (mutual adaptation mechanisms), Health Ministry protocols and joint clinical sessions (standardization mechanisms). We analyzed the data using simple frequencies, means and percentages. In general, primary health care doctors are more familiar with the mechanisms, and use them more frequently, than specialized health care doctors. In the comparison between networks, Recife had better results. Referral and reply letters were the most used (61.4%) and joint clinical sessions were the least used (8.6%), in addition to the existence of informal mechanisms (phone 58%, notes 56.6%, WhatsApp 2.6%). Underutilization of mechanisms, divergences in information sent and received between primary health care and specialized health care professionals and inadequate mechanism use suggest communication failures among professionals and service levels. The findings reveal a need for investments that enable awareness, communication and collaboration between professionals, contributing to a better coordination between the different services levels.

A perspectiva dos supervisores sobre a integralidade nas práticas dos médicos cubanos do Programa Mais Médicos

RESUMO A supervisão no Programa Mais Médicos (PMM) contempla ações clínico-pedagógicas, com o objetivo de qualificar o cuidado, e se articula a relevante estratégia para fixação de médicos na atenção básica. Este artigo analisa a perspectiva dos supervisores sobre os médicos cubanos do PMM no município do Rio de Janeiro quanto à integralidade das práticas, explorada em suas dimensões da abordagem biopsicossocial do cuidado com orientação comunitária e do elenco ampliado de ações de promoção, prevenção e assistência. Foram realizados análise temática dos relatórios mensais de supervisão, entre 2013 e 2015, e grupo focal com supervisores. Os resultados apontam que os médicos cubanos no PMM desenvolvem leque amplo de ações, com inserção comunitária, enfoque preventivo, planejamento de atividades e bom relacionamento interpessoal. Desafios que não se restringiam ao PMM, em muitos casos, foram relacionados à abordagem centrada na pessoa, à saúde mental e à insuficiente realização de alguns procedimentos.