O que se sabe e o que ainda devemos saber sobre a regulação em saúde

Abstract

Introduction: In Brazil, the 1988 Federal Constitution granted the right to universal and
comprehensive access to health care, and as a result, the State's powers were significantly
expanded. In order to provide this information, management tools were used, one of which was
the National Regulatory Policy, divided into Regulation of Health Systems, Care and Access.
Objective: To identify the trend of Brazilian research in theses and dissertations on health
regulation. Methods: This is a narrative review of the literature, based on the collection of the
CAPES Theses and Dissertations Bank on January 8, 2025. The search was carried out using the
keywords and DeCS/MeCH descriptor “health regulation” OR “health regulation” OR “health
regulation and inspection”. The analysis of the abstracts was performed qualitatively, according
to the similarity between the themes. Results: 260 results were found. Using the selection
criteria, 64 studies were chosen to compose the research. Conclusion: The study made it possible
to demonstrate that health regulation faces difficulties such as fragmentation of care, scarcity of
supply and consequent high waiting times for services with higher technological density, which
is reflected in obstacles to comprehensive and equitable health. The gaps found in the knowledge
produced involve the development of studies that address the regulation of health care, SUS
financing, regionalization and decentralization. In addition, studies with a quantitative design are
suggested, seeking to analyze/correlate the capacity of contracted services and referenced
demand, statistically demonstrating the capacity of the agreed references.

KEY WORDS: Health Regulation and Supervision; Equity, Comprehensiveness in Health,
Regionalization of Health.