The same applies to hospital and examination services. Doctors abuse prescriptions for laboratory tests: 40% of tests in Brazil are unnecessary, consuming R$12 billion annually, according to the Institute of Economic and Social Studies.
Insurance companies are slow to adopt preventive medicine. In Brazil, specialist doctors (more expensive) are perceived as having better quality, while developed countries prefer general doctors. There, investment is made in preventive health with the family doctor, who accompanies the patient throughout his life, a model with an effectiveness of more than 85%, according to researcher Ademir López Jr. (USP).
Operators are poorly managed in Brazil. They rent hospitals, doctors and laboratories and push forward an outdated model. If there is a crisis in the sector, it is already chronic.
Ligia Bahia, from the Institute for Public Health Studies at UFRJ.
“It’s not sustainable”
Operators blame Brazilians’ preference for specialist doctors. “The current model is not sustainable, but it creates a feeling of access to services,” admits Marcos Noves, supervisor of Abramge (Brazilian Association of Health Plans). “If you offer Brazilians a plan with a family doctor and a traditional plan, they will buy the second plan.”
There must be a social agreement to change this perception. Changes have begun, but changing culture and training GPs takes time, which Brazil lacks.
Marcos Novaes, from Abramja
