equipocesca

Primary health care provides services fitted to health needs of the population. To understand the way of working in PHC we need to consider a general framework with focus in the workforce (providers) and the way of payments (and incentives). Considerations around the Duth model helps in this paper to make proposals for improvement. PHC: [...]

Rethinking the health service production function: What role for primary health care in modern health service provision? Seminar of Innovation in Primary Care. Oxford (UK), 29nd September 2012 Organized by Juan Gérvas MD, PhD (general practitioner, Equipo CESCA, Madrid, Spain; visiting professor, International Health, National School of Public Health, Madrid) and José M. Valderas MD, [...]

The Lancet published in May a few papers about the Brazilian health system, none of them on primary care, or with a focus on health policy. Therefore, important questions were kept out of the debate. This letter highlights some of the critical questions as maldistribution of doctors. Brazilian health service organization: problems at a glance. [...]

Brazil, with almost 200 millions inhabitants, has a public primary health system that covers 60% of the population. Health centers are public, with professionals working as public employees, and organized in health teams (one per 4.000 inhabitans, with a family physician, a nurse, an auxiliar and six agents of communiyt health). The Strategy of Family [...]

Barbara Starfield died 10th June 2011. She was a giant of primary health care. Her publications have being critical for building up a framework for health services researh, and for health policy. This obituary remember her work and life. Quando um gigante cai, os añoes ficam sem sombra. Gérvas, J., Peréz Fernández, M. Rev Soc [...]

Seminars of Innovation in Primary Care started in 2005 and they are still on in 2011. This text explains how the Seminars are organized, the methodology and how they finish with formal publications. Key points are the on-line debate before and after the face-to-face workshop, the themes selected, the difussion of practical and theoretical questions [...]

Iodine supplements during pregnancy could be a dangerous practice in places with normal and medium level de iodine food content. Spanish data show that iodine supplements are associate with problems of the thyroid gland (in the female) and problems in the psychological-motor development of the offspring (girls). Iodine supplements to pregnant women. Gérvas J. Marzo [...]