A Reforma dos Cuidados de Saúde Primários em Portugal: portuguesa, moderna e inovadora

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Abstract

Resumo A reforma de 2005 dos cuidados de saúde primários (CSP) portugueses foi uma das mais bem-sucedidas feitas nos serviços públicos do país. O acontecimento mais relevante foi a constituição das Unidades de Saúde Familiar (USF): equipes multidisciplinares voluntárias e auto-organizadas, que prestam cuidados médicos e de enfermagem personalizados a um conjunto de pessoas. Num segundo momento reorganizaram-se as restantes dimensões dos CSP com a criação dos Agrupamentos de Centros de Saúde (ACeS). Apostou-se na governação clínica procurando-se obter ganhos em saúde pela melhoria da qualidade e da participação e responsabilização de todos. Este artigo tem por objetivo caracterizar a reforma de 2005 dos CSP Portugueses com a análise das suas dimensões sistêmica e local. Trata-se de um estudo de caso de uma reforma na área dos CSP de um sistema de saúde com análise documental e descrição de uma de suas unidades. Esta reforma foi portuguesa, moderna e inovadora. Portuguesa ao não quebrar completamente com o passado, moderna porque se aliou à tecnologia e ao trabalho em rede, e inovadora porque ultrapassou o modelo hierarquizado tradicional. Cumpriu o objetivo de uma reforma: conseguiu melhorias com maior satisfação de todos e ganhos em saúde.

Translated abstract

Abstract The 2005 Portuguese primary health care (CSP) reform was one of the most successful reforms of the country’s public services. The most relevant event was the establishment of Family Health Units (USF): voluntary and self-organized multidisciplinary teams that provide customized medical and nursing care to a group of people. Then, the remaining realms of CSP were reorganized with the establishment of Health Center Clusters (ACeS). Clinical governance was implemented aiming at achieving health gains by improving quality and participation and accountability of all. This paper aims to characterize the 2005 reform of Portuguese CSP with an analysis of its systemic and local realms. This is a case study of a CSP reform of a health system with documentary analysis and description of one of its facilities. This reform was Portuguese, modern and innovative. Portuguese by not breaking completely with the past, modern because it has adhered to technology and networking, and innovative because it broke with the traditional hierarchized model. It fulfilled the goal of a reform: it achieved improvements with greater satisfaction of all and health gains.

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Introducing a complex health innovation--primary health care reforms in Estonia (multimethods evaluation).

Nata Menabde, Maris Jesse, Katrin Saluvere … (2006)

All post-Soviet countries are trying to reform their primary health care (PHC) systems. The success to date has been uneven. We evaluated PHC reforms in Estonia, using multimethods evaluation: comprising retrospective analysis of routine health service data from Estonian Health Insurance Fund and health-related surveys; documentary analysis of policy reports, laws and regulations; key informant interviews. We analysed changes in organisational structure, regulations, financing and service provision in Estonian PHC system as well as key informant perceptions on factors influencing introduction of reforms. Estonia has successfully implemented and scaled-up multifaceted PHC reforms, including new organisational structures, user choice of family physicians (FPs), new payment methods, specialist training for family medicine, service contracts for FPs, broadened scope of services and evidence-based guidelines. These changes have been institutionalised. PHC effectiveness has been enhanced, as evidenced by improved management of key chronic conditions by FPs in PHC setting and reduced hospital admissions for these conditions. Introduction of PHC reforms - a complex innovation - was enhanced by strong leadership, good co-ordination between policy and operational level, practical approach to implementation emphasizing simplicity of interventions to be easily understood by potential adopters, an encircling strategy to roll-out which avoided direct confrontations with narrow specialists and opposing stakeholders in capital Tallinn, careful change-management strategy to avoid health reforms being politicized too early in the process, and early investment in training to establish a critical mass of health professionals to enable rapid operationalisation of policies. Most importantly, a multifaceted and coordinated approach to reform - with changes in laws; organisational restructuring; modifications to financing and provider payment systems; creation of incentives to enhance service innovations; investment in human resource development - was critical to the reform success.