Resumo

OLIVEIRA, Robson Rocha de  e  ELIAS, Paulo Eduardo Mangeon. Healthcare regulatory concepts in Brazil. Rev. Saúde Pública [online]. 2012, vol.46, n.3, pp. 571-576. ISSN 0034-8910.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102012000300020.

The healthcare regulatory concepts used in Brazilian scientific publications on healthcare management were reviewed. A typo-logical classification for regulatory concepts was developed from the most current ideas in five disciplines: life sciences, law, economics, sociology and political science. Four ideas stood out: control, balance, adaptation and direction, with greatest emphasis on the technical nature of regulation. The political nature of regulation was secondary. It was considered that dis-cussion of healthcare regulatory concepts was connected with comprehension of the role that the state plays in this sector. De-finition of the forms of state intervention is the key convergence point between the different ways of conceptualizing healthcare regulation.

Palavras-chave : Health Care Coordination and Monitoring; Health Law; Health Public Policy; Health Systems; Health Management; Unified Health System; Review.