Pay-for-performance for primary health care in Brazil: A comparison with England's Quality Outcomes Framework and lessons for the future.

Pay-for-performance (P4P) has been widely applied in OECD countries to improve the quality of both primary and secondary care, and is increasingly being implemented in low- and middle-income countries. In 2011, Brazil introduced one of the largest P4P schemes in the world, the National Programme for Improving Primary Care Access and Quality (PMAQ). We critically assess the design of PMAQ, drawing on a comparison with England's quality and outcome framework which, like PMAQ, was implemented at scale relatively rapidly within a nationalised health system. A key feature of PMAQ was that payment was based on the performance of primary care teams but rewards were given to municipalities, who had autonomy in how the funds could be used. This meant the incentives felt by family health teams were contingent on municipality decisions on whether to pass the funds on as bonuses and the basis upon which they allocated the funds between and within teams. Compared with England's P4P scheme, performance measurement under PMAQ focused more on structural rather than process quality of care, relied on many more indicators, and was less regular. While PMAQ represented an important new funding stream for primary health care, our review suggests that theoretical incentives generated were unclear and could have been better structured to direct health providers towards improvements in quality of care.

Pay for performance in primary care: the contribution of the Programme for Improving Access and Quality of Primary Care (PMAQ) on avoidable hospitalisations in Brazil, 2009-2018.

BACKGROUND: Evidence on the effect of pay-for-performance (P4P) schemes on provider performance is mixed in low-income and middle-income countries. Brazil introduced its first national-level P4P scheme in 2011 (PMAQ-Brazilian National Programme for Improving Primary Care Access and Quality). PMAQ is likely one of the largest P4P schemes in the world. We estimate the association between PMAQ and hospitalisations for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs) based on a panel of 5564 municipalities. METHODS: We conducted a fixed effect panel data analysis over the period of 2009-2018, controlling for coverage of primary healthcare, hospital beds per 10 000 population, education, real gross domestic product per capita and population density. The outcome is the hospitalisation rate for ACSCs among people aged 64 years and under per 10 000 population. Our exposure variable is defined as the percentage of family health teams participating in PMAQ, which captures the roll-out of PMAQ over time. We also provided several sensitivity analyses, by using alternative measures of the exposure and outcome variables, and a placebo test using transport accident hospitalisations instead of ACSCs. RESULTS: The results show a negative and statistically significant association between the rollout of PMAQ and ACSC rates for all age groups. An increase in PMAQ participating of one percentage point decreased the hospitalisation rate for ACSC by 0.0356 (SE 0.0123, p=0.004) per 10 000 population (aged 0-64 years). This corresponds to a reduction of approximately 60 829 hospitalisations in 2018. The impact is stronger for children under 5 years (-0.0940, SE 0.0375, p=0.012), representing a reduction of around 11 936 hospitalisations. Our placebo test shows that the association of PMAQ on the hospitalisation rate for transport accidents is not statistically significant, as expected. CONCLUSION: We find that PMAQ was associated with a modest reduction in hospitalisation for ACSCs.

[National primary health care policy in Brazil: an analysis of the review process (2015-2017)Política Nacional de Atención Básica en Brasil: un análisis del proceso de revisión (2015-2017)]. / Política Nacional de Atenção Básica no Brasil: uma análise do processo de revisão (2015­2017).

OBJECTIVE: To describe and discuss events associated with the latest review of the national primary health care (PHC) policy in Brazil (Política Nacional de Atenção Básica, PNAB) so as to highlight narratives that may contribute to future analyses focusing on the formulation, implementation, and assessment of this policy. METHOD: Participant observation report of the PNAB review process, based on content and document analyses. RESULTS: The review process of PNAB, which took place between 2015 and 2017, was strongly marked by technical and political dispute among the Ministry of Health and authorities representing municipal and state health departments. The main changes introduced by the new version of PNAB are the financing of other PHC organizational models in addition to the Family Health Strategy; attribution of additional responsibilities to community health agents; introduction of a national set of core and extended PHC services and actions; and introduction of a manager role as part of PHC teams. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of the revised PNAB, which was the result of interfederation dispute, will depend on the convergence of interests in a PHC that is accessible and effective, strengthening the Unified Health System. This will substantially require societal engagement and leadership in the fight for the right to health in Brazil.

OBJETIVO: Presentar y discutir los acontecimientos relacionados con el proceso de revisión de la Política Nacional de Atención Básica (PNAB) en Brasil, de manera de obtener información que pueda contribuir a futuros análisis sobre la formulación, implementación y evaluación de esa política. MÉTODOS: Se evaluó el relato de la experiencia de los participantes del proceso de revisión de la PNAB a partir del análisis de contenido, complementado por un análisis documental. RESULTADOS: El proceso de revisión de la PNAB, que tuvo lugar entre 2015 y 2017, presentó marcadas disputas técnico-políticas entre el Ministerio de Salud y las instancias representativas de las secretarías municipales y estatales de salud. Los principales cambios introducidos por la nueva versión de la PNAB son la posibilidad de financiamiento de otros modelos de organización de la atención básica además de la Estrategia Salud de la Familia, la ampliación de las atribuciones de los agentes comunitarios de salud, la construcción de la oferta nacional de servicios y acciones esenciales y ampliadas de atención básica, y la inclusión del gerente de atención básica en los equipos. CONCLUSIONES: La implementación de la nueva PNAB, fruto de las disputas entabladas en el campo de la gestión interfederativa, dependerá de la confluencia de intereses hacia la efectivización de una atención primaria accesible y resolutiva, fortaleciendo el Sistema Único de Salud, lo que requiere la participación y el protagonismo de la sociedad en la lucha por el derecho a la salud en Brasil.