The health regionalization process from the perspective of the transation cost theory.

This study analyzes the incidence of transaction costs in the regionalization process of health policies in the Brazilian federal system. In this work, regionalized health actions contracted and agreed between federal agencies have assumed a transactional nature. A conceptual theoretical essay of reflective nature was prepared with the purpose of questioning and proposing new approaches to improve the health regionalization process.

Between flows and therapeutic projects: revisiting the notions of lines of care in health and therapeutic itineraries.

This essay discusses the possibilities of conceptual and practical connections between the ideas of line of care and therapeutic itineraries, beginning with the theoretical contributions that lay the foundations for the Line of Integrated Healthcare and the hermeneutic approaches to Care. The implementation of lines of care tuned to individual and collective health needs can be glimpsed in the construction of therapeutic projects, inasmuch as they privilege the particularities of each situation in the agreement of flows of appointments, exams, and other procedures. The therapeutic project - taken as an arrangement, strategy, device, or basic dimension of Care in the work process in health - can be seen as an image that lays out a possibility of the future, which in turn is a projection conditioned by past experiences of health, illness, and life.

Supply and usage of hemodynamic services in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Objective: To analyze the supply of equipment and procedures inherent to public hemodynamic services in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Methods: We conducted an exploratory study based on official data banks: AMS survey of IBGE, CNES, AIH and APAC, and ANS. The examination period of the supply was from 1999 to 2009, and of the use, from 2008 to October 2012.

[Health assessment and economic assessment in health: introduction to the debate on the points of intersection].

The study aims to infer the existence of a continuum between Health Assessment and Economic Assessment in Health, by highlighting points of intersection of these forms of appraisal. To achieve this, a review of the theoretical foundations, methods and approaches of both forms of assessment was conducted. It was based on the theoretical model of health evaluation as reported by Hartz et al and economic assessment in health approaches reported by Brouwer et al.

[Effectiveness assessment of public clinical laboratories: the case of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State].

The organization of public clinical laboratories is experiencing changes without, however, an organizational assessment of its effectiveness. The study aimed to determine a parameter of effectiveness for public clinical laboratories of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State, and set cut-off points for the sections of these laboratories. In order to do so, the total production and number of hours worked during a period of 7 months in the year 2008 were consolidated.

[Health economic evaluation in a local level government health care system].

This work aims to contribute to the discussion about the possibility of applying health economic evaluations at local level government healthcare system, and consequently use the results of this study into decision making. In order to subside this reflexion, it was analyzed the SAMU/192 Program costs evaluation in the city of Belo Horizonte, as well as data concerning effectiveness of the program and a review on electronic databases (SciELO and Medline) about the application of studies in decision making. The analysis showed that even for a simple evaluation on expenditure, there are still unsolved problems of data availability as well as of data effectiveness on information systems definition and association.

[Reviewing the literature of cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analysis in health].

This study aims to contribute to the dissemination of the theoretical foundations for cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analysis. It also provides backing for reflections on the implementation of studies leading to real benefits for both the population and health system management. Taking a historical perspective, and drawing on the work of renowned authors, the study provides an extensive literature review on cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analysis, from the theoretical formulation to the definition of methodological guidelines.

[Cost-effectiveness analysis of renal replacement therapies: how should we design research on these interventions in Brazil?].

This study aims to contribute to the discussion on the possibility of applying health economics assessment, specifically the cost-effectiveness technique, to renal replacement therapies for end-stage renal failure. A review was conducted on the interventions and their alternative courses from the perspective of the various methodological proposals in the literature, considering the availability of data and information in Brazil to back this type of research.