A concentração de leitos nos municípios do Brasil pode estar associada a pressões de uso no sistema hospitalar do país?

Abstract

The objective of this study is to verify if the concentration of beds in the municipalities of Brazil is associated to pressures of use of the hospital system, that is to say, to the higher hospitalization rates, as suggested by an important relation in the area of public health called Roemer's Law. Methodologically, the work uses quantile regressions in order to verify the strength of the correlation of the rate of beds offered with the different quantiles of the distribution of hospitalizations. The results provide evidence that, in fact, the greater supply of beds is associated with greater use pressures of the hospital system, which can result in a serious problem in the inequality of access to these services by the population of the country.