The Regulation of Services in Secondary Oral Health Care in Brazil

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the regulation of access to Centers for Dental Specialties (CEO) in the 1 st cycle of Program for Improving Access and Quality of Centers for Dental Specialties (PMAQ-CEO), specifically the waiting time for the first consultation in association with socioeconomic and demographic factors of users and the characteristics of services. Material and Methods: The quantitative database of the 1 st cycle PMAQ-CEO external evaluation was used, with question directed to the CEO user (Module III -3.1 and 3.2), which sought to identify user characteristics and access to CEO. To obtain data, a field phase was carried out between months of February to June 2014 in 930 CEOs in all Brazilian states. Results: Users who obtained the first appointment within thirty days of waiting were those who had family incomes above 10 minimum wages; which showed higher schooling; appointment scheduling by telephone made directly to the CEO; and that the consultation was accomplished by "squeeze in" option. Conclusion: It was observed that aspects related to schooling, family income and primary health care coverage influence the waiting time to obtain the first consultation in CEO. There were several ways of referencing of users, and those who performed better were those who shared accountability for the appointments between service and user.

Factors associated with the waiting time for access to specialized oral healthcare services in Brazil

“…The data used in our study corresponded to interviews with CEO managers and dentists 3 . Data from the second phase of the PMAQ ‐ CEO were provided by the Ministry of Health (http://aps.saude.gov.br/ape/pmaq/ciclo2ceo/).…”

“…The secondary database from the second phase of the PMAQ-CEO's External Assessment was used, which consisted of an in loco survey that analysed the The data used in our study corresponded to interviews with CEO managers and dentists. 3 Data from the second phase of the PMAQ-CEO were provided by the Ministry of Health (http://aps.saude.gov. br/ape/pmaq/ciclo 2ceo/).…”

“…The National Program for Improving Access to and Quality of Specialized Dental Care Centers ( PMAQ ‐ CEO , in Portuguese) was implemented to support an external assessment in loco of secondary oral care services. The program was designed to aid in the definition of quality parameters and certification in order to improve and expand oral healthcare actions nationwide 3 …”

“…The program was designed to aid in the definition of quality parameters and certification in order to improve and expand oral healthcare actions nationwide. 3 In the first phase of the PMAQ-CEO, in 2014, the waiting time for access to specialized care was identified as a dissatisfaction factor, and both regional and social inequalities were detected. 3,4 Although national oral health policies in several countries have not defined a standard waiting time for specialist consultations, 5 organizing the waiting list by regulating access can allow for more equitable attention.…”

Specialized Dental Care in the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS)

“…There is a lack of studies evaluating specialized oral health care in Brazil [4,10,12]. Previously published studies reported the results of the first cycle of the PMAQ-CEO [2,8,10,11,[13][14][15][16][17]; however, data from the second cycle are still poorly known. Thus, the aim of the present study was to analyze specialized dental care through access, demand and the work process provided by the CEO's, using secondary data from the cycles of the PMAQ-CEO.…”