Justice and social control pass through regulation in public health

By Valéria Credidio (ASCOM/LAIS)

“Regula RN saved lives and prevented detour of public resources. It wasn’t a hit. It was through knowledge”. The statement is from the Attorney General in Rio Grande do Norte, Fernando Rocha, during the coffee with ideas “Regulation, control and monitoring of SUS: justice and social control”, held on the morning of the last day of the 3rd. International Health Innovation Conference.

The coffee, which is a conversation circle, was mediated by the executive director of the Laboratory for Technological Innovation in Health (LAIS/UFRN), professor Ricardo Valentim, and with the participations of Claudio Azevedo, Director of the National Audit Department of the Unified Health System – DENASUS; Iara Maria Pinheiro de Albuquerque, RN Public Prosecutor; João Marcelo Barreto Silva (General Coordinator of Regulation and Evaluation, Ministry of Health, Cláudio Azevedo, Director of DENASUS, and Everton Macedo Silva, General Coordinator of Health Economics, MS.

During the debate, the importance of the Regula RN platform was highlighted, and especially the technical cooperation between various instances of society for the use of information, strengthening social justice. “It is more than a tool. It is public policy being put into practice, with equitable and transparent access, in real time,” said Dr. Iara Pinheiro.

The bed regulation process, throughout the National Health System, in the country, was also the theme approached by João Marcelo Barreto. For the representative of the Ministry of Health, regulation is fundamental for a system that is losing its control. “SUS needs to be regional. 99.9% of the municipalities are not able to attend to citizens in their entirety. There is no health reference to regulate the patient”.

The importance of transformations was also reinforced in Claudio Azevedo and Everton Macedo’s speeches. For Azevedo, the example of RN needs to be taken to all of Brazil, showing that it is necessary to work with the availability of information. “The lack of access to information is an impediment to social justice. It is necessary for citizens to be aware of their rights, and every day access to quality health care must be guaranteed. There is only one answer: innovation and transparency. Macedo complements with the need for good application of public resources in health: “The application of the resource needs to induce a policy and the whole society needs to benefit from these choices”, he concluded.