Assessing the impact of the mais médicos program on basic health care indicators

The Mais Médico Program was launched by the federal government in 2013 with the main objective of reducing the shortage of physicians in regions of socioeconomic vulnerability in Brazil. Since then, the program has been attracting interest in evaluating its effectiveness on the localities adhered. This paper aims to measure the effects generated by the “Mais Médicos” Program on health indicators of Brazilian municipalities from an econometric approach of policy evaluation. Using a difference-in-differences methodology, the effects on indicators of basic health care, morbidity and mortality were analyzed from the Program data between 2013 and 2015. There are evidences that the “Mais Médicos” Program has positive effects on the primary healthcare indicators, particularly on appointments, consultations, referrals, examinations, and home visits, and negative effects over some indicators of morbidity. However, the Program does not seem to have been able to reduce mortality in the municipalities.

Programa mais médicos / More physicians program

O Programa Mais Médicos faz parte de um amplo processo de melhoria do atendimento do Sistema Único de Saúde(SUS), que prevê investimentos em hospitais e unidades de saúde, levando médicos para regiões com escassez eausência de profissionais. Essa medida é apenas uma série de tantas outras que visam ao aprimoramento da formação médica e à resolução da carência de profissionais em regiões menos favorecidas. Este artigo apresenta umacontextualização do programa, bem como pretende a compreensão de seus instrumentos normativos, aspectos relevantes e finalidades. É uma pesquisa de cunho bibliográfico, com revisão na literatura a respeito do tema. Constatou-se que o programa objetiva resolver a disparidade entre os estados brasileiros, no que diz respeito ao índice de médicos/mil habitantes, refletindo na melhoria da atenção básica de saúde. Conclui-se que a convocação de médicos para a atuação em municípios que apresentam maior vulnerabilidade social, tem a finalidade de garantir mais saúde para todo o Brasil, bem como a expansão de vagas de medicina e de residência médica, possibilitando o aprimoramento profissional dos envolvidos.

More Physicians Program is part of a broader process of improving the care of the Unified Health System (SUS), whichforesees investments in hospitals and health units, leading doctors to areas with shortages and lack of professionals,noting that this measure is only a host of many others aimed at improving medical training and the resolution of theshortage of professionals in underprivileged areas. This article seeks to contextualize the program as well asunderstanding its normative instruments relevant aspects and purposes. It is a survey of bibliographic nature, withreview of the literature on the subject, divided into two chapters. It was found that the program aims to address thedisparity between the Brazilian states, with regard to the number of doctors / thousand, reflecting the improvement ofprimary health care. We conclude that the call for medical operations in municipalities with higher social vulnerability,aims to ensure better health for all over Brazil, as well as the expansion of places of Medicine and residency, enablingthe professional development of those involved.