Abstract

LIMA, Claudia Risso de Araujo; CARVALHO, Marilia Sá  and  SCHRAMM, Joyce Mendes de Andrade. Government funding for health and the reliability of national databases in Brazil, 2001-2002. Cad. Saúde Pública [online]. 2006, vol.22, n.9, pp. 1855-1864. ISSN 0102-311X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2006000900016.

Created in 1999, the Information System on Government Health Budgets (SIOPS) provides information on health revenues and expenditures at the three government levels: Municipal, State, and Federal. The lack of other databases with nationwide coverage and detailed information on municipal expenditures makes SIOPS the main source of data for such studies or estimates. The current study aims to compare the revenues declared in SIOPS by the municipalities and the National Health Fund records in order to assess the reliability of the two databases and identify which variables are most discordant. It also compares the data on Municipal expenditures with those from National Treasury records. The Intra-Class Correlation Coefficient (CCIC) was used for this analysis, complemented by a scatterplot of the mean values for the two databases and their differences. The 2002 data showed better quality. The recognition that SIOPS provides reliable data should stimulate new studies including financial aspects in the analysis of population health.

Keywords : Health Financing; Information Systems; Health Systems.