Vigilância sanitária e segurança do paciente na atenção primária à saúde em estados da região nordeste do Brasil.

Abstract

It’s up to Health Surveillance Agency to do the sanitary control in Primary Health care (APS) health services, between this responsibility is patient security actions in this level of care. Despite of this legal obligation the activities health surveillance and patient safety in primary health care are poor and there aren’t many studies about this subject in literature. This study aims to analyze sanitary control in primary health care services by the state health surveillance (VISA) of Northeast states in Brazil, and as specific objectives: describe activities made by state VISA in primary care services, identify limits, possibilities, and challenges to state VISA do their job in primary care, describe the form and function of patient safety core in primary care of Northeast states in Brazil. It’s a descriptive and exploratory multiple case study that used data triangulation of focal groups, individual interviews and documents from a major study called Vigilância Sanitária nos Serviços da Atenção Básica e Atenção Especializada em estados brasileiros. The analysis was made using a analysis matrix based on the objectives of this study that based the construction of the study results. About state VISA activities are surveillance and sanitary control in health services, but primary health care services were not in the roll of activities of state VISA, except in specific situations as request of Cities health Agencies or other agencies. As a big challenge to state VISA are reduced number of professionals, financial resources, physical structure to do the job. As possibilities we have found channels of dialog between VISA and Primary Health Care. About Patient security there is Patient safety core for hospital services, but not for primary care services, to this level of care are Only some discussions about the implantation of patient safety core and the Agency responsible for these activities, if is from state VISA or city VISA. This study points to the necessity of a big investment in decentralization activities for health Surveillance and a better structuring of health Surveillance agencies in cities, so those agencies are capable of do all the sanitary control in their town and guarantee patient security for primary health care.