This article analyzes the process of formation of the regional health care network in the metropolitan area of Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil (RMGV-ES), with specific focus on public hospital care, trying to characterize the current stage of structuring inter-hospital network in the State of Espírito Santo (Brazil), particularly in the Grande Vitória area. Hospitalizations were analyzed performed in hospitals of the Brazilian National Health System and the displacements of the users of these services among the municipalities that make up the RMGV. The methods adopted were the processing and analysis of data from the Sistema de Internações Hospitalares do Sistema Único de Saúde (SIH-SUS), systematized by the Departamento de Informática do Sistema Único de Saúde - Datasus. The RMGV recorded significant population flows in the use of public health services, as shown by the data collected. The largest shifts were observed between men, children and adolescents and for surgical admissions. Considering regionalization as a new principle and guideline of the health decentralization process, this article has identified changes in the process that previously pointed to the municipalization and now seeks to strengthen a regional and intermunicipal perspective for assistance to the population.
Public Policy; Health Care Policy; Regionalization; Hospital Care