The Overturning of Chevron Deference: Implications for the US Healthcare System.

In 1984, Chevron deference was established by the US Supreme Court in Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., granting administrative agencies broad powers to interpret ambiguous laws passed by Congress. This landmark decision has fostered decades of controversy among legal scholars. Opponents argued it deprived courts of their constitutional duty and inappropriately expanded the power of the administrative state, while proponents claimed federal agencies, staffed by experts in their field, possess specialized knowledge to most effectively accomplish the goals of Congress. In June 2024, the Supreme Court's ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo effectively ended Chevron deference, altering the judicial landscape with significant implications for US healthcare. In this commentary, we discuss the various potential benefits and challenges that the US healthcare system will face in a post-Chevron landscape while also considering the ways in which clinicians will be expected to help address these obstacles.

The value of experts by experience in social domain supervision in the Netherlands: results from a 'mystery guests' project.

BACKGROUND: User involvement and participation in the supervision of the quality of care is an important topic for many healthcare inspectorates. It offers regulators an additional view on quality, increases the legitimacy and accountability of the inspectorate, empowers users and enhancing the public's trust in the inspectorate. To assess the accessibility of the local governmental social domain services the Joint Inspectorate Social Domain in the Netherlands worked together with people with intellectual disabilities performing as 'mystery guests' in an innovative project. This paper describes the findings of the evaluation of this project. METHODS: People with intellectual disabilities living at home on their own may need some help with daily activities such as administrative tasks, raising children, household tasks, managing debts or finding work. In the Netherlands they have to arrange this help at their municipality. The goal of this project was to find out how easily people with intellectual disabilities could get help from their municipality. The participants were equal partners with the JISD inspectors from the beginning: in constructing an inspection framework, in acting as mystery guest with a fictive support request, reported back the results by storytelling. RESULTS: The evaluation of the project showed that the JISD succeeded in their key aspect of the project: the goal to involve people with intellectual disabilities in a leading role from the beginning until the end. Their perspectives and preferences were the starting point of supervision. Pain points in accessibility became clear straight away and gave important insights for both inspectors as municipality professionals. Municipalities started to improve their services and evaluated the improvements with the clients. Furthermore, the impact on the participants themselves was also huge: they felt being taken seriously, valued and empowered. CONCLUSION: Involving people with intellectual disabilities as participants in all phases of supervision processes contributes to more relevant and useful outcomes, creates mutual understanding of perspectives, as affirmed by both municipalities and inspectors, and creates empowerment of the participants. Furthermore, it fits perfectly within the United Nation Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities and the current development of 'value driven regulation'.

The Need for Transparency in Medicaid Managed Care: Section 1115 Waiver Requirements as a Blueprint.

Medicaid plays a significant role in the health care space, providing insurance coverage to nearly one quarter of the U.S. population. In recent years, managed care organizations have taken on an increasingly prominent role in the Medicaid space, and in many instances have become the sole insurance option for Medicaid recipients. The scale and method of implementation for managed care programs has varied widely from state to state. This Note discusses the many methods by which a state can enact managed care within its Medicaid program, and summarizes the challenges with assessing the success of such programs. It proposes a uniform approach to managed care reporting requirements designed to increase transparency and accountability across state lines, and in turn ensure quality care for Medicaid managed care beneficiaries.

Linking resilience and regulation across system levels in healthcare - a multilevel study.

BACKGROUND: The Quality Improvement Regulation was introduced to the Norwegian healthcare system in 2017 as a new national regulatory framework to support local quality and safety efforts in hospitals. A research-based response to this, was to develop a study with the overall research question: How does a new healthcare regulation implemented across three system levels contribute to adaptive capacity in hospital management of quality and safety? Based on development and implementation of the Quality Improvement Regulation, this study aims to synthesize findings across macro, meso, and micro-levels in the Norwegian healthcare system. METHODS: The multilevel embedded case study collected data by documents and interviews. A synthesizing approach to findings across subunits was applied in legal dogmatic and qualitative content analysis. SETTING: three governmental macro-level bodies, three meso-level County Governors and three micro-level hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: seven macro-level regulators, 12 meso-level chief county medical officers/inspectors and 20 micro-level hospital managers/quality advisers. RESULTS: Based on a multilevel investigation, three themes were discovered. All system levels considered the Quality Improvement Regulation to facilitate adaptive capacity and recognized contextual flexibility as an important regulatory feature. Participants agreed on uncertainty and variation to hamper the ability to plan and anticipate risk. However, findings identified conflicting views amongst inspectors and hospital managers about their collaboration, with different perceptions of the impact of external inspection. The study found no changes in management- or clinical practices, nor substantial change in the external inspection approach due to the new regulatory framework. CONCLUSIONS: The Quality Improvement Regulation facilitates adaptive capacity, contradicting the assumption that regulation and resilience are "hopeless opposites". However, governmental expectations to implementation and external inspection were not fully linked with changes in hospital management. Thus, the study identified a missing link in the current regime. We suggest that macro, meso and micro-levels should be considered collaborative partners in obtaining system-wide adaptive capacity, to ensure efficient risk regulation in quality improvement and patient safety processes. Further studies on regulatory processes could explore how hospital management and implementation are influenced by regulators', inspectors', and managers' professional backgrounds, positions, and daily trade-offs to adapt to changes and maintain high quality care.

The FDA and the COVID-19: A political economy perspective.

This article utilizes a political economy framework to examine how FDA regulations impacted the U.S. healthcare sector's ability to address COVID-19. I specifically examine the developing COVID-19 testing, the approval of the medication remdesivir, and COVID-19 vaccines. By examining periods before and after the FDA issued Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs), my analysis finds that the FDA's regulations enacted before the COVID-19 pandemic began strongly restricted clinician and patient access to COVID-19 testing, remdesivir treatment, and approving vaccines. After the FDA issued EUAs, the healthcare sector quickly adopted COVID-19 testing and remdesivir with little evidence of negative consequences. These findings contribute to the economics literature examining the FDA and contemporary COVID-19 policy research.

What methods are used to promote patient and family involvement in healthcare regulation? A multiple case study across four countries.

BACKGROUND: In the regulation of healthcare, the subject of patient and family involvement figures increasingly prominently on the agenda. However, the literature on involving patients and families in regulation is still in its infancy. A systematic analysis of how patient and family involvement in regulation is accomplished across different health systems is lacking. We provide such an overview by mapping and classifying methods of patient and family involvement in regulatory practice in four countries; Norway, England, the Netherlands, and Australia. We thus provide a knowledge base that enables discussions about possible types of involvement, and advantages and difficulties of involvement encountered in practice. METHODS: The research design was a multiple case study of patient and family involvement in regulation in four countries. The authors collected 1) academic literature if available and 2) documents of regulators that describe user involvement. Based on the data collected, the authors from each country completed a pre-agreed template to describe the involvement methods. The following information was extracted and included where available: 1) Method of involvement, 2) Type of regulatory activity, 3) Purpose of involvement, 4) Who is involved and 5) Lessons learnt. RESULTS: Our mapping of involvement strategies showed a range of methods being used in regulation, which we classified into four categories: individual proactive, individual reactive, collective proactive, and collective reactive methods. Reported advantages included: increased quality of regulation, increased legitimacy, perceived justice for those affected, and empowerment. Difficulties were also reported concerning: how to incorporate the input of users in decisions, the fact that not all users want to be involved, time and costs required, organizational procedures standing in the way of involvement, and dealing with emotions. CONCLUSIONS: Our mapping of user involvement strategies establishes a broad variety of ways to involve patients and families. The four categories can serve as inspiration to regulators in healthcare. The paper shows that stimulating involvement in regulation is a challenging and complex task. The fact that regulators are experimenting with different methods can be viewed positively in this regard.

A cross-sectional study into medical students' perceptions of healthcare regulation and self-reported compliance: a study conducted in the City of Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, 2016.

BACKGROUND: Although healthcare regulation is commonplace, there is limited evidence of its impact. Making sure that healthcare professionals comply with the regulatory requirements is a prerequisite to achieving effective regulation. Therefore, investigating factors that influence compliance may provide better insights into how regulators can be more effective. This study aimed to find out if medical students' perceptions of regulation in the United Arab Emirates are associated with self-reported regulatory compliance. METHODS: In the cross-sectional study, we administered a structured questionnaire to students of medicine with different statements concerning their perceptions of healthcare regulation and self-reported compliance. The statements included statement regarding the legitimacy, fairness and regulatory performance, as well as the risk to getting caught and being punished. The association between perceptions and self-reported compliance was analyzed using multiple regression models. RESULTS: One hundred and six Year 3 and 4 pre-clinical medicine students (56.4% response rate) completed the survey. Almost 40% of the students rated their level of awareness and understanding of regulation as Good or Very Good., despite their lack of direct contact with the regulatory authorities (less than 10% reported monthly or more frequent contact). Self-reported compliance was high with almost 85% of the students either agreeing or strongly agreeing with the four compliance statements (mean score 4.1 out of 5). The findings suggest that positive perceptions of the regulator's performance (ß 0.27; 95% CI 0.13-0.41), fairness of the regulatory processes (ß 0.25; 95% CI 0.11-0.38) and its legitimacy (ß 0.23; 95% CI 0.05-0.41), are stronger associated with compliance than the perceived risks of getting caught and being punished (ß 0.10; 95% CI -0.04 - 0.23). CONCLUSIONS: To improve compliant behavior, healthcare regulators should pay more attention to their own perceived performance, as well as the perceived fairness and legitimacy of their regulatory processes rather than focusing on more traditional methods of deterrence, such as perceived risk of getting caught and being published.

Regulating the for-profit private healthcare providers towards universal health coverage: A qualitative study of legal and organizational framework in Mongolia.

BACKGROUND: Regulating the behavior of private providers in the context of mixed health systems has become increasingly important and challenging in many developing countries moving towards universal health coverage including Mongolia. This study examines the current regulatory architecture for private healthcare in Mongolia exploring its role for improving accessibility, affordability, and quality of private care and identifies gaps in policy design and implementation. METHODS: Qualitative research methods were used including documentary review, analysis, and in-depth interviews with 45 representatives of key actors involved in and affected by regulations in Mongolia's mixed health system, along with long-term participant observation. RESULTS: There has been extensive legal documentation developed regulating private healthcare, with specific organizations assigned to conduct health regulations and inspections. However, the regulatory architecture for healthcare in Mongolia is not optimally designed to improve affordability and quality of private care. This is not limited only to private care: important regulatory functions targeted to quality of care do not exist at the national level. The imprecise content and details of regulations in laws inviting increased political interference, governance issues, unclear roles, and responsibilities of different government regulatory bodies have contributed to failures in implementation of existing regulations.

The Evolution of External Healthcare Regulation in England; From Performance Oversight to Supporting Improvement Comment on "The Special Measures for Quality and Challenged Provider Regimes in the English NHS: A Rapid Evaluation of a National Improvement Initiative for Failing Healthcare Organisations".

The Special Measures and Challenged Provider (SMCP) Regime introduced for struggling healthcare organisations in England represents a subtle shift to the scope of external regulation from performance oversight to include supporting internal service improvement. External regulation alone has a had a mixed impact on the quality of care and Vindrola-Padros and colleagues' study highlights that externally driven improvement initiatives may also struggle to succeed in turning around performance. Principally, this is due to a failure in acknowledgment that poor performance results from a myriad of external and internal factors which coalesce to impede organisational performance. A struggling organisation may be indicative of wider issues in the local health and care system. Whole systems approaches to improvement with collaboration across providers and the effective use of data may support struggling organisations but their role maybe tempered with the increased centralisation of the delivery of improvement regimes such as SMCP.

Trading spaces: Medicare's regulatory spillovers on treatment setting for non-Medicare patients.

Medicare pricing is known to indirectly influence provider prices and care provision for non-Medicare patients; however, Medicare's regulatory externalities beyond fee-setting are less well understood. We study how physicians' outpatient surgery choices for non-Medicare patients responded to Medicare removing a ban on ambulatory surgery center (ASC) use for a specific procedure. Following the rule change, surgeons began reallocating both Medicare and commercially insured patients to ASCs. Specifically, physicians became 70% more likely to use ASCs for the policy-targeted procedure among their non-Medicare patients. These novel findings demonstrate that Medicare rulemaking affects physician behavior beyond the program's statutory scope.

Developing a model of midwifery mentorship for Uganda: The MOMENTUM project 2015-2017.

MOMENTUM was a 20 month midwifery twinning project between the Royal College of Midwives UK and the Ugandan Private Midwives Association. It ran from 2015-2017 and was funded by UK-Aid through THET. MOMENTUM aimed to develop a model of mentorship for Ugandan midwifery students. The project achieved its objectives. 41 Ugandan midwives were trained as mentors following a work-based learning curriculum. 142 student midwives from 8 midwifery schools received mentorship in 7 participating clinical sites. All sites showed measured improvement in the clinical learning environment. 7 UK midwives were twinned with Ugandan counterparts and engaged in peer-exchange visits and virtual support via smart-phones. The model is context-specific and may not be replicable in other countries or professions. However it will inform midwifery education in the UK and elsewhere.

Aplicação do mapeamento conceitual na regulação do acesso aos serviços públicos de saúde, Distrito Federal, Brasil / Application of conceptual mapping in the regulation of access to public health services in the Federal District, Brazil

Resumo A regulação em saúde na busca da equidade subsidia a gestão e necessita de métodos avaliativos que incrementem os processos de trabalho. O objetivo deste artigo é analisar a aplicação do mapeamento conceitual na regulação do acesso aos serviços públicos de saúde. Estudo exploratório e descritivo, sob abordagem mista, realizado no Complexo Regulador em Saúde do Distrito Federal. Os dados foram coletados entre agosto e outubro de 2019 e analisados com o auxílio dos softwares IRaMuTeQ e Concept Systems®. Há uma convergência de 25 declarações geradas pelos 71 participantes, agrupadas em 04 Clusters sobre a regulação rumo ao princípio da equidade. O nível de prioridade assistencial apresentou-se como o foco da regulação e a gestão, a força motriz para a integração dos processos. O mapeamento conceitual é uma ferramenta que pode apoiar o planejamento e avaliação da regulação, pois possibilita identificar pontos prioritários a serem trabalhados pela gestão na melhoria dos processos regulatórios evidenciados neste estudo como a capacitação dos profissionais, a transparência da informação e o nível de prioridade assistencial para um acesso efetivo, equânime, racional e oportuno aos usuários do sistema de saúde.

Abstract Health regulation in the pursuit of equity is the goal of management and requires evaluation methods that improve work processes. The scope of this article is to analyze the application of conceptual mapping in the regulation of access to public health services. It is an exploratory and descriptive study, using a mixed approach, carried out at the Health Regulatory Complex of the Federal District. The data were collected between August and October 2019 and analyzed with the assistance of IRaMuTeQ and Concept Systems® software. There is a convergence of the 25 statements generated by the 71 participants, grouped into 4 clusters, on regulation towards the principle of equity. The healthcare priority level was presented as the focus of regulation and management, the driving force behind the integration of processes. Conceptual mapping is a tool that can support regulation planning and evaluation, as it makes it possible to identify priority points to be worked on by management in improving the regulatory processes identified in this study. These include the training of professionals, the transparency of information and the level of priority healthcare, for effective, equitable, rational and timely access for users of the health system.

A regulatory governance perspective on health technology assessment (HTA) in France: the contextual mediation of common functional pressures.

The new regulatory governance perspective has introduced several insights to the study of health technology assessment (HTA): it has broadened the scope for the analysis of HTA; it has provided a more sophisticated account of national diversity and the potential for cross-border policy learning; and, it has dissolved the distinction between HTA assessment and appraisal processes. In this paper, we undertake a qualitative study of the French process for HTA with a view to introducing a fourth insight: that the emergence and continuing function of national agencies for HTA follows a broadly evolutionary pattern in which contextual factors play an important mediating role. We demonstrate that the French process for HTA is characterised by distinctive institutions, processes and evidential requirements. Consistent with the mediating role of this divergent policy context, we argue that even initiatives for the harmonisation of national approaches to HTA are likely to meet with divergent national policy responses.

A technical review of the United Kingdom National Adult Cardiac Surgery Governance Analysis 2008-11.

The Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery in Great Britain and Ireland (SCTS) has published named mortality data since 2001. The importance of accurate and robust clinical outcome reporting has been emphasized by a number of high-profile cases in England. In this article, we give a technical review of the United Kingdom National Adult Cardiac Surgery Governance Analysis 2008-11. The statistical and analytical assumptions and methods are discussed in order to add an additional layer of transparency to the clinical governance process and precipitate scrutiny with the aim of optimizing future analyses.

Regulação assistencial ambulatorial no Município do Rio de Janeiro, RJ: efeitos da inserção da APS na regulação / Ambulatory assistance regulation in Rio de Janeiro-RJ: effects of APS inserting in regulation

A regulação assistencial adequada melhora a equidade no acesso à atenção especializada conforme a necessidade das pessoas, tornando-se um instrumento para a garantia da atenção integral. A crescente regulamentação do SUS responsabilizou os municípios pela regulação assistencial para garantir a integralidade e o adequado funcionamento das redes de atenção à saúde. O município do Rio de Janeiro, após diferentes configurações, passou a regular as vagas de procedimentos especializado através da plataforma web SISREG, desenvolvida pelo DATASUS. Em junho de 2012, a gestão municipal descentralizou a regulação ambulatorial e empoderou os médicos responsáveis técnicos das unidades básicas de saúde para exercer tal função. O presente estudo objetivou analisar os efeitos da inserção dos profissionais da Atenção Primária à Saúde no processo de regulação assistencial ambulatorial no município do Rio de Janeiro, RJ na qualidade da regulação e nas filas de espera. Quatro procedimentos foram analisados, tomados como marcadores: consulta em oftalmologia geral-geral, consulta em cirurgia geral-geral, consulta em obstetrícia alto risco geral e mamografia bilateral- rastreamento. A partir de dados do SISREG foram comparados número de vagas, status das solicitações, tempo médio de espera geral e de acordo com a classificação de risco dos quatro procedimentos, entre janeiro de 2011 e dezembro de 2013. (...) Com base na literatura e a partir da análise dos dados, conclui-se que a redução dos tempos de espera resultaram de um conjunto diversificado de medidas tomadas pela SMS do Rio de Janeiro. As mudanças na regulação melhoraram sua qualidade e foram mais efetivas para redução de tempos de espera quando acompanhadas do aumento da oferta de vagas. É necessário buscar novas perspectivas de responsabilização da APS e de aproximação dos prestadores dos diversos níveis para a coordenação do cuidado de modo que a regulação assistencial torne-se um instrumento de melhoria da equidade e não mais uma barreira ao acesso dos usuários.

Regulação assistencial ambulatorial no Município do Rio de Janeiro, RJ: efeitos da inserção da APS na regulação / Ambulatory assistance regulation in Rio de Janeiro-RJ: effects of APS inserting in regulation

A regulação assistencial adequada melhora a equidade no acesso à atenção especializada conforme a necessidade das pessoas, tornando-se um instrumento para a“ Só eu sei as esquinas por que passei …viigarantia da atenção integral. A crescente regulamentação do SUS responsabilizou os municípios pela regulação assistencial para garantir a integralidade e o adequado funcionamento das redes de atenção à saúde. O município do Rio de Janeiro, após diferentes configurações, passou a regular as vagas de procedimentos especializado através da plataforma web SISREG, desenvolvida pelo DATASUS. Em junho de 2012, a gestão municipal descentralizou a regulação ambulatorial e empoderou os médicos responsáveis técnicos das unidades básicas de saúde para exercer tal função. O presente estudo objetivou analisar os efeitos da inserção dos profissionais da Atenção Primária à Saúde no processo de regulação assistencial ambulatorial no município do Rio de Janeiro-RJ na qualidade da regulação e nas filas de espera. Quatro procedimentos foram analisados, tomados como marcadores: consulta em oftalmologia geral-geral, consulta em cirurgia geral-geral, consulta em obstetrícia alto risco geral e mamografia bilateral- rastreamento. A partir de dados do SISREG foram comparados número de vagas, status das solicitações, tempo médio de espera geral e de acordo com a classificação de risco dos quatro procedimentos, entre janeiro de 2011 e dezembro de 2013. Os resultados mostram efeitos diferenciados por procedimento. Para consulta em oftalmologia, o número de vagas dobrou ao longo do período e houve redução do tempo de espera em 50%, de 184 dias em 2011 para 99 dias em 2013. Para consulta em cirurgia geral o aumento do número de vagas foi de apenas 6% e o tempo de espera subiu de 63 para 72 dias.

Para consulta de obstetrícia-alto risco ocorreu aumento do número de vagas e o tempo de espera reduziu para as classificações de risco mais graves (risco vermelho, de 38 para 25 dias), porém observou-se leve aumento no tempo médio de espera, de 36 para 39 dias. Para mamografia rastreamento que tem oferta de vagas suficiente ocorreu redução do tempo de espera (de 68 para 18 dias) bem como do absenteísmo. A qualidade da regulação para os quatro procedimentos melhorou com o aumento de solicitações devolvidas e negadas, demonstrando avaliação mais criteriosa pelos reguladores. Com base na literatura e a partir da análise dos dados, conclui-se que a redução dos tempos de espera resultaram de um conjunto diversificado de medidas tomadas pela SMS do Rio de Janeiro. As mudanças na regulação melhoraram sua qualidade e foram mais efetivas para redução de tempos de espera quando acompanhadas do aumento da oferta de vagas. É necessário buscar novas perspectivas de responsabilização da APS e de aproximação dos prestadores dos diversos níveis para a coordenação do cuidado de modo que a regulação assistencial torne-se um instrumento de melhoria da equidade e não mais uma barreira ao acesso dos usuários. (AU)

An adequate healthcare regulation improves the equity to the access to the specialized care according to the person needs, and became a tool to assure an access to a comprehensive health care. The increasing regulation of the Brazilian Unified Health System (hereby SUS) passed the responsibility to the municipalities for the healthcare regulation to assure the comprehensiveness and the adequate operation of the healthcare network. Rio de Janeiro city, after several configuration attempts, began to regulate the specialized procedures through the web SISREG platform, developed by DATASUS. In June 2012, the municipal management decentralized the outpatient regulation and empowered doctors that were technical managers of the basic health care units to serve as refugators. The present study has as objective to analyse the effects of the insertion of the primary health care professionals in the regulation process of outpatient specialized care in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro-RJ, regarding qualify of regulation and waiting times. Four procedures were analysed: consultations in ophthalmology, consultations in general surgery, consultations in obstetrics and consultations for screening bilateral mammogram. Based of the data from SISREG, it was possible to compare the number of schedule, requisition status, the overall average waiting times and according to the risk rating in these four procedures, between January 2011 and December 2013. The main findings were: the amount of schedule for ophthalmology doubled in the period and occur a reduction in almost 50% in the waiting times; for surgery the waiting times increased in 10 days over time, and the number of consultation increased in 6% between the period; for obstetrics the waiting times were reduced for the most severe classification risks, however it was observed a slight increase in the average waiting times; for screening bilateral mammogram there was a reduction in wait time as well as absenteeism.

The quality of the regulation presented improvement for the four precedures, with the increase in the returned and denied requisitions, showing a more careful evaluation from the managers. From the data analysis, based on the literature, it can be concluded that the set of measurements taken by the Rio Janeiros´s SMS incurred in the reduction of the average waiting time, and that increase of the number of schedule is one of the most effective measurement. It is necessary to search for new perspectives for the accountability of APS and the oncoming of the providers of several levels to coordinate the care in a way the healthcare regulation became a tool for the improvement in the equity and not another barrier to the access of the users. (AU)

O complexo regulador da assistência à saúde na perspectiva de seus sujeitos operadores / El complejo regulador de la asistencia a la salud en la perspectiva de sus sujetos operadores / The regulatory complex for healthcare from the perspective of its operational players

Trata-se de pesquisa avaliativa objetivando avaliar aspectos do resultado da implantação do Complexo Regulador (CR) na organização do sistema público de saúde de Ribeirão Preto-SP. O cenário foi o espaço funcional do CR. Foram entrevistados trabalhadores de diferentes categorias que atuavam na gestão e no nível operacional do CR e o material analisado segundo análise temática. Os achados mostram que o CR provocou alterações na acessibilidade organizacional e equidade da rede de saúde, tanto na atenção ambulatorial quanto hospitalar; destacou a necessidade de constituição de rede resolutiva e humanizada e mostrou ser ferramenta profícua de avaliação e gestão. A implantação alterou o processo de trabalho dos sujeitos e teve pouco reconhecimento junto aos usuários do SUS. A avaliação apontou que, apesar do pouco tempo de implantação, a estratégia do CR tem potência para colaborar na sustentabilidade do SUS, mas se fazem necessários: investimento, divulgação e aperfeiçoamento.

This investigation aimed to evaluate aspects of the outcome from implementing the Regulatory Complex (RC) for public healthcare system organization in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. The functional domain of the RC formed the scenario. Interviews were conducted with workers in different categories, within the administrative and operational levels of the RC. The material was analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings showed that the RC caused changes to the organizational accessibility and equity of the healthcare network, for both outpatient and hospital care. The need to create a resolutive and humanized network was highlighted, The RC was shown to be a useful evaluation and management tool. Its implementation changed the subjects' work processes and had little recognition among SUS users (Brazilian Unified Health System).The evaluation showed that, despite the short time since implementation, the RC strategy has the strength to collaborate towards SUS sustainability, although investment, dissemination and improvement are needed.

Se trata de investigación de evaluación objetivando evaluar aspectos del resultado de la implantación del Complejo Regulador (CR) en la organización del sistema público de salud de Ribeirão Preto en el estado brasileño de São Paulo. El escenario ha sido el espacio funcional del CR. Se entrevistaron trabajadores de diferentes categorías que actuaban en la gestión y en el nivel operacional del CR y el material se ha analizado según análisis temático. Se verifica que el CR provoca alteraciones en la accesibilidad organizadora y equidad de la red de salud, tanto en la atención en el dispensario como en la del hospital; se destaca la necesidad de constitución de red resolutiva y humanizada atención y muestra que es recurso proficuo de la evaluación y gestión. La implantación ha alterado el proceso de trabajo de los sujetos y ha tenido poco reconocimiento por parte de los usuarios del Sistema Único de Salud. La evaluación indica que, a pesar del poco tiempo de implantación, la estrategia del CR tiene potencia para colaborar en la sustentación del Sistema Único de Salud pero son necesarios inversión, divulgación y perfeccionamiento.