The Brazilian Ministry of Health launched its Family Health Program (FHP) in 1994 as a new strategy aimed at reorganizing the healthcare system starting from the primary care level. The Program prioritizes delivery of care to groups identified as presenting increased risk, such as diabetic and hypertensive individuals. The objective of this study was to evaluate the care delivered to such patients by professionals in this program in the municipality of Francisco Morato, São Paulo, Brazil. A random cluster-based sample selected 84 patients with diabetes and/or hypertension who answered a questionnaire at home. Seventy-two patients responded. Of these, 19% were diabetic, 41.7% hypertensive, and 38.9% had both diabetes and hypertension. As for the care offered by the FHP, only 35.9% received excellent diagnostic workups and 10.9% excellent physical examinations. Some 20.8% of the patients reported illness-related complications. With the implementation of the FHP, access to care improved for both diabetic and hypertensive patients. The FHP proved to be a valid alternative to increase healthcare access, seeking to achieve greater equity by delivering care in accordance with the population's needs.
Hypertension; Diabetes Mellitus; Patient Care
