Programa más médicos en la frontera: gestión en salud en las ciudades gemelas entre Brasil y Uruguay

Introduction:  More Doctors Program, in accordance with Law No. 12,871 of 2013, was structured on three strategic fronts: the first one deal with the emergency of medical care for Basic Care, the second, an investment in infrastructure for Basic Care and the last one, these are measures related to the training of doctors in the country. Access to medical care is essential for the comprehensive health care for users of the Unified Health System (called SUS in Brazil). Health professionals are concentrated in large urban centers and are lacking in the north and northeast regions of Brazil, especially in relation to Basic Care. Cities located in the border region also suffer from a shortage of doctors; as such places are considered remote areas of urban centers and capitals. Objective: This study aims to describe the perception of six municipal managers about the potential of the More Doctors Program in relation to the reorientation of Basic Care in twin cities between Brazil and Uruguay. Methodology: This is a qualitative study with a semi-structured interview. Data collection was performed from January to March in 2016. The analysis of the data was based on the analysis of content proposed by Bardin and the theoretical reference of Strategic Planning was described by Matus and Testa. Results: Border cities decentralized and planned health care by allocating doctors to Basic Care. The provision of doctors and their permanence in the teams mobilized the multiprofessional work and extended the access of the users to actions and health services. Conclusion: Health management has greater planning power by having a medical professional in its workforce. Therefore, the More Doctors Program provided both changes in the care model and confrontation of social inequalities in health in border cities.