Procedures production by SAMU 192 in Brazil: Performance, benchmarking, and challenges

Abstract

Objective: To describe and analyze the production of procedures carried out by the regulation centers and the different mobile resources of SAMU 192 from 2015 to 2019, according to population-based indicators and daily productivity, establishing a basic system performance indicator. Method: Census, retrospective and descriptive study carried out with data from approved production of procedures, extracted from the Outpatient Information System of the Unified Health System, according to country and states, in terms of frequency, population base and productivity. Benchmarking was established by the historical average. Results: 116.8 million procedures were analyzed. In the period, the population covered and resources grew by 9.7% and 14.4%, respectively, while calls answered increased by 26.5% and the total of basic and advanced procedures increased by 28.5%. On average, each thousand inhabitants generated 109.8 calls per year, resulting in 42.5 procedures by the central, 24.0 with the sending of mobile resources, which performed 26.4 procedures. Basic support units performed 18.5 emergency calls and 2.7 transports per thousand inhabitants covered, with a daily productivity of 3.3 calls/day and 0.5 transports/day. Daily, the advanced support units performed 2.7 calls/day and 0.9 transports/day. Conclusion: The production of procedures exceeded the growth rates of mobile resources and covered population. There were variations in demand and productivity between states, high production in populated areas, strong presence of BLS modalities and increased transport procedures. National productivity benchmarks were lower than international ones and may reflect inefficient operational behavior.