Médicos pelo Brasil: caminho para a privatização da atenção primária à saúde no Sistema Único de Saúde?

More doctors, better health? A generalised synthetic control approach to estimating impacts of increasing doctors under Brazil's Mais Medicos programme

Worldwide, there are an insufficient number of primary care physicians to provide accessible, high-quality primary care services. Better knowledge on the health impacts of policies aimed at improving access to primary care physicians is important for informing future policies. Using a generalised synthetic control estimator (GSC), we estimate the effect of the increase in primary care physicians from the Programa Mais Médicos in Brazil. The GSC allows us to estimates a continuous treatment effects which are heterogenous by region. We exploit the variation in physicians allocated to each Brazilian microregion to identify the impact of an increasing Mais Médicos primary care physicians. We explore hospitalisations and mortality rates (both total and from ambulatory care sensitive conditions) as outcomes. Our analysis differs from previous work by estimating the impact of the increase in physician numbers, as opposed to the overall impact of programme participation. We examine the impact on hospitalisations and mortality rates and employ a panel dataset with monthly observations of all Brazilian microregion over the period 2008-2017. We find limited effects of an increase in primary care physicians impacting health outcomes - with no significant impact of the Programa Mais Médicos on hospitalisations or mortality rates. Potential explanations include substitution of other health professionals, impacts materialising over the longer-term, and poor within-region allocation of Mais Médicos physicians.

Evolução da estrutura e resultados da Atenção Primária à Saúde no Brasil entre 2008 e 2019

Resumo Descreve a evolução da estrutura e resultados da Atenção Primária à Saúde (APS) no Brasil, entre 2008 e 2019. Foram calculadas a mediana de variáveis como: despesa per capita em APS por habitante coberto, cobertura da APS e as taxas de mortalidade e internações por condições sensíveis à atenção primária (CSAP) de 5.565 municípios brasileiros estratificados segundo porte populacional e quintil do Índice Brasileiro de Privação (IBP) e analisada a tendência mediana no período. Houve aumento de 12% na mediana da despesa em APS. A cobertura da APS expandiu, sendo que 3.168 municípios apresentaram 100% de cobertura em 2019, contra 2.632 em 2008. A mediana das taxas de mortalidade e internações por CSAP aumentou 0,2% e diminuiu 44,9% respectivamente. A despesa em APS foi menor nos municípios com maior privação socioeconômica. Quanto maior o porte populacional e melhores as condições socioeconômicas dos municípios, menor a cobertura da APS. Quanto maior a privação socioeconômica dos municípios, maiores foram as medianas das taxas de mortalidade por CSAP. Este estudo demonstrou que a evolução da APS foi heterogênea e está associada tanto ao porte populacional como às condições socioeconômicas dos municípios.

Evolution of the structure and results of Primary Health Care in Brazil between 2008 and 2019

Abstract This paper describes the structure and results of Primary Health Care (PHC) in Brazil between 2008 and 2019. The medians of the following variables were calculated: PHC spending per inhabitant covered, PHC coverage, and rates of mortality and hospitalizations due to primary care sensitive conditions (PCSC), in 5,565 Brazilian municipalities stratified according to population size and quintile of the Brazilian Deprivation Index (IBP), and the median trend in the period was analyzed. There was a 12% increase in median PHC spending. PHC coverage expanded, with 3,168 municipalities presenting 100% coverage in 2019, compared to 2,632 in 2008. The median rates of PCSC mortality and hospitalizations increased 0.2% and decreased 44.9%, respectively. PHC spending was lower in municipalities with greater socioeconomic deprivation. The bigger the population and the better the socioeconomic conditions were in the municipalities, the lower the PHC coverage. The greater the socioeconomic deprivation was in the municipalities, the higher the median PCSC mortality rates. This study showed that the evolution of PHC was heterogeneous and is associated both with the population size and with the socioeconomic conditions of the municipalities.

Conjuntura política brasileira e saúde: do golpe de 2016 à pandemia de Covid-19

RESUMO Estudos de análise de conjuntura no campo da saúde coletiva têm ganhado espaço, contribuindo para sistematizar elementos da realidade e traçar cenários possíveis para uma melhor atuação na arena política. Embasado no materialismo histórico e dialético, este ensaio busca analisar a conjuntura política brasileira do golpe de 2016 à pandemia de Covid-19. O ensaio está estruturado em três seções: a primeira reconhece a importância de pensar o passado para se compreender o futuro, bem como as forças mobilizadoras e ameaçadoras do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS); a segunda traça um perfil do projeto ultraneoliberal imposto à política de saúde frente ao golpe jurídico-midiático-parlamentar de 2016 e a eleição do presidente Jair Bolsonaro, em 2018, cuja moeda de troca englobou a redução da seguridade social; a terceira seção discute como a pandemia da Covid-19 foi conduzida pelo governo federal e entes subnacionais, assim como a atuação da sociedade civil e política organizada. Nas considerações finais, apresentam-se os desafios das forças progressistas para o ano eleitoral de 2022 e para sustentabilidade de um possível governo popular que garanta o direito universal à saúde, sendo este parte do desafio maior de retomada e garantia da própria democracia.

Análise crítica sobre a implantação do novo modelo de alocação dos recursos federais para atenção primária à saúde: operacionalismo e improvisos

Resumo: Realiza-se um ensaio crítico acerca das políticas adotadas pelo governo Jair Bolsonaro no âmbito da atenção primária à saúde (APS) no Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), particularmente no tocante ao primeiro ano de implantação do seu novo modelo de alocação de recursos financeiros. A primeira parte aborda as medidas e os efeitos do primeiro ano, evidenciando a continuidade do processo de valorização de um “SUS operacional” em detrimento do princípio da universalidade. A segunda parte analisa alguns cenários de tendência da implantação do novo modelo de “financiamento” da APS, em termos de perdas e ganhos de recursos, especialmente, de duas capitais brasileiras, São Paulo e Manaus, que apresentam relação direta com a conjuntura problemática após um ano de pandemia do coronavírus. Para esse exercício, busca-se relacionar os valores do Componente de Capitação Ponderada desses municípios, comparando 2019 (ano sem o novo modelo) e 2020 (um ano de implantação do novo modelo). A destruição da universalidade no SUS via APS está seguindo seu curso, conforme os dados apontam. Se o que acontece em Manaus e São Paulo, com a existência de prejuízos financeiros em comparação aos recebimentos de 2019, de fato representa uma tendência, é provável que o processo de desfinanciamento produzido pelo novo modelo de alocação aconteça nos demais centros urbanos de forma desigual e combinada, segundo suas realidades.

Context and organization of primary health care in remote rural communities in Northern Minas Gerais State, Brazil

The study analyzes the structural characteristics of primary health care (PHC) in its contextual and organizational dimensions in remote rural municipalities (counties) in Northern Minas Gerais State, Brazil. This is a case study with a qualitative approach, using 21 semi-structured interviews with health system administrators and health care workers from the family health teams (EqSF), as well as secondary data. For the contextual dimension, the results show that socioeconomic factors in the remote rural municipalities condition the organization of PHC and leave the population vulnerable, especially in the rural areas of the remote municipalities. As for the organizational dimension, the principal characteristics are: coexistence of formal and informal assignment of the services' users, two modalities of first-contact services, namely basic health units (UBS) and 24-hour health centers; prioritization of response to the spontaneous demand; strong action by the Family Health Support Centers in the development of activities in promotion and prevention, expanded scope of practices by community health workers; partial guarantee of transportation for persons in treatment; partial computerization of the UBS with the implementation of the electronic patient record (e-SUS), telecardiology; and the More Doctors Program. The study found that remote rural municipalities are not a uniform unit, since the municipal (county) seat and the rural areas are unequal in terms of living conditions and lack specific organization, policies, and financing to guarantee access to PHC. With all the limitations, the observations show initiatives with major difficulties in maintenance and sustainability and sometimes without necessarily corresponding to the use of space and social life that define rural health itineraries.

The Family Health Strategy coverage in Brazil: what reveal the 2013 and 2019 National Health Surveys

This paper examines the evolution of Brazil's Family Health Strategy coverage from the findings of the 2013 and 2019 National Health Survey censuses. Indicators included Family Health Clinic coverage of residents and households, frequency of visits by Community Health Workers, and usual source of care, all stratified by rural and urban areas, Brazilian regions, states, education of the household head, and income quintile. In 2019, 60.0% of households were enrolled in a Family Health Clinic, and population coverage was 62.6%. Coverage was higher in rural than in urban areas in the Northeast and South regions. Between 2013 and 2019, coverage increased by 11.6%, while monthly health worker visits decreased. Coverage was highest among the most vulnerable population, as defined by the household head education level or by the family income. Availability of usual source of care was highest among those enrolled in a Family Health Clinic. The 2019 National Health Survey findings confirm that Brazil's Family Health Strategy continues to be an equitable policy and the main SUS' Primary Health Care model. However, recent changes in the national policy guidance, which are weakening the community approach and the priority given to the Family Health Strategy Program, may jeopardize those gains.

Organização da Atenção Primária à Saúde em um município rural remoto do norte do Brasil

RESUMO O objetivo do artigo foi caracterizar a organização da Atenção Primária à Saúde (APS) e suas interfaces com os demais serviços da rede assistencial em um Município Rural Remoto (MRR). Foi realizado estudo de caso único em Assis Brasil (AC), por meio de entrevistas com usuários, gestores e profissionais de saúde. Os resultados indicaram distribuição desigual de estabelecimentos de saúde com áreas descobertas; dificuldades de acesso por condições climáticas; barreiras econômicas para custeio de transporte; promoção de ações itinerantes na zona rural; descontinuidade e insuficiência de medicamentos; dificuldades para a fixação de profissionais; escassez de recursos tecnológicos; falta de acesso à internet; necessidade de adaptação cultural; concentração de serviços especializados do SUS na capital. Foram identificados esforços da gestão local para manutenção da Estratégia Saúde da Família (ESF) e adequação dos processos de trabalho para atendimento ao grande fluxo de demanda espontânea, estrangeiros e população indígena. Argumenta-se que o MRR e suas populações somam vulnerabilidades econômicas, sociais e de acesso aos serviços de saúde, parcialmente atendidas pelas políticas nacionais, e que o ente municipal, sem o suficiente apoio e aporte de recursos estadual e federal, mantém arranjos possíveis para a provisão de APS, nem sempre afeitos aos princípios abrangentes da ESF.

Primary health care in the 25 years of Journal Ciência & Saúde Coletiva

Primary Health Care (PHC) is an area of study that has improved remarkably in the last decades. In Brazil, this academic production is highly expressed in the field of Collective Health. This paper aims to analyze the PHC production published in the first 25 years of the "Journal Ciência & Saúde Coletiva" (C&SC). A narrative review was carried out, with analysis of the themes, methods, scale of analysis, partnerships, and authorship. A total of 295 papers were published, which corresponds to 5.9% of the total publications. A growing trend in papers addressing PHC was observed. The studies were mostly empirical (78.6%), with a qualitative approach (58.0%) and were predominantly local or municipal. Studies on health professionals were more frequent. The three prevailing themes were the health care model, PHC performance or effectiveness, and the work process. The profile found dialogues with the rich and diverse experience of Brazilian PHC. However, the incorporation of broader analyses is still challenging. The published papers highlighted the debates and contributed to the reflection and dissemination of the experience of Brazilian PHC, which was and is central to the construction of the Brazilian Health System.

Previne Brasil, the Agency for the Development of Primary Healthcare, and the Services Portfolio: radicalization of privatization policy in basic healthcare?

The essay analyzes documents produced by the Brazilian Ministry of Health in 2019 and 2020 for the reorganization of basic healthcare: the new financing policy (Previne Brasil), the Agency for the Development of Primary Healthcare (Law n. 13,958), the Services Portfolio, and complementary provisions. The objective was to understand how the projected changes in management roles and the healthcare model contribute to strengthening the public policy's mercantile logic. As parameters for the analysis, we used the management responsibilities and the principles and guidelines of the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS) and basic healthcare oriented according to the social determination of the health-disease process, the expanded definition of health, territorially organized care, community focus, and coordination of care in an integrated network. Changes in the allocation of public resources, the establishment of new possibilities for relations between the State and private companies, and adjustment of the healthcare model to market management characteristics reveal the privatizing orientation of these measures. The policy assumes an individualizing focus in the model of care and financing, undercutting the territorial perspective, community work, and comprehensive and multidisciplinary care. This accelerates the reconfiguration of the SUS as a system in which public or private agents can participate indistinguishably, exacerbating the break with the constitutional commitment to health as a duty of the State.

National Primary Health Care Policy: where are we headed to?

This paper analyzes recent policies in the field of Primary Health Care (PHC) and their possible implications for the care model in the Unified Health System (SUS). Initially, some of the concepts that influenced the models of care in the Brazilian public system are revived, and we argue that the Family Health Strategy (ESF) bases for reorienting care practices in primary care are consistent with the principles of the SUS. Below, we analyze the central elements of new federal policies for PHC. We show that changes in the PHC care model threaten the teams' multidisciplinarity, prioritize acute illness care, focus in individual care, weaken the community territorial approach and establish coverage by registration, which evidence redirection of the health policy, harming the principles of universality, integrality, and equity in the SUS.