Attractive Family Medicine as a Strategy for Shortage of Primary Care Specialists in Brazil

The first level of the health system, responsible for coordinating medical and interdisciplinary care, is often Primary Health Care. Primary Health Care is of fundamental importance and is present in all regions of Brazil. Near 80% of the overall need related to diseases presented in the Basic Health Units can be treated by this structure, ensuring access to health care, coordination, and comprehensiveness of care. However, despite this importance, Primary Health Care and Family medicine have not been prioritized in most Brazilian educational institutions as disciplines and public policies. The studies on medical demography carried out by the Regional Medical Council of São Paulo, Brazil, in 2020 showed that 500,000 physicians are distributed unequally among the five regions. It means that the biggest concentration of professionals is in the capital cities, and the fewest are in the countryside.  

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