The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Health. 2nd Governmental Symposium on Health Economics in BahiaWhich was held on Tuesday (20) in El Salvador, where they highlighted the role of health economics in the sustainability of the Unified Health System (SUS). This event brought together government and municipal managers and technicians, professionals from oversight bodies and consultants with the aim of discussing the importance of the agenda and its interactions with planning.
The Director of Health Economics and Development of the Ministry of Health (Desid), Erika Aragão, highlighted the role of the agenda as central to the formulation of policies that address the sustainability of the unified system of services. “The current administration continues to work to ensure that states and municipalities integrate health economics tools and concepts into their planning, with a committed focus on the efficient use of resources in the SUS, while ensuring the quality of services for those who seek them. This is precisely why this ministry is promoting the presence of the Center for Health Economics (NES) in health departments.
To implement a national strategy for the country’s economy, the Bahia Health Department has responded to management challenges by expanding strategic actions: “From a strategic point of view, it is convenient for the director to have data on the health economy, so that we can calibrate the health policy in the state and make the best choices,” analyzed the Undersecretary of the State Ministry of Health, Paulo Barbosa.
The symposium also included discussions on the importance of the National Cost Management Program, managed by Desid, for the Bahia State Secretariat. Lectures were also held on health cost management, highlighting the experiences of the Federal District and Bahia.
- Photo: Marcio Rocha/CESAP
Health Economics Centers Nationwide
An arm of the Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation and the Health-Industrial Economic Complex of the Ministry of Health (Tawaif), the Health Economics and Development Department has as one of its objectives the awareness of SUS managers and technicians through the structuring of health economics centers in state administrations and municipalities in the country.
This is because the centres are focal points for the dissemination of health economics tools and concepts, with the aim of guiding local decision-making in search of more efficient alternatives based on the optimal use of resources targeting public health.
The State of Bahia responded to the call of the Ministry of Health regarding the implementation of the National Strategy for the Economy in 2006, while the Municipality of El Salvador has just institutionalized its nucleus. In addition, the country already has a total of 17 active and institutional centers, 3 of them in municipalities and 14 in states.
Priscilla Lionel
Ministry of Health
