This study aimed to characterize the dynamics of the physical and financial production of hospitalizations in 25 cities in the region of Ribeirão Preto, state of São Paulo, Brazil, area of the Regional Department of Health XIII (DRS-XIII). This was a descriptive and exploratory research, with documentary research as the method of data collection. The study population was constituted by hospitalizations, processed by the Hospital Information System of the Unified Health System (SIH-SUS), according to specialty, year and municipality, from 1996 to 2007, in 23 hospitals hired or contracted by SUS in the region. The data were coded in spreadsheets. Ribeirão Preto hospitalizations represented 64% of production, and hospitalization in the nearby region, 36%. The financial output was 14.6% in the region and 85.4% in Ribeirão Preto. There are possibilities of hospitalizations with increased cost and complexity in Ribeirão Preto. The production varies across specialties. The results provide order flow of users, monitoring of production between hospitals, assisting the management of the particularities of the local health system in hospital care.
Hospital information systems; Organization and administration; Hospitalization
