Impact Assessment of OSS Management in Hospitals on the Mortality Rate for Primary Care Sensitive Conditions
Social Health Organizations; Public Administration; New Public Management; Third Sector; Differences-in-Differences
This work consists of an impact assessment of the adoption of the Social Health Organizations (OSS) management model in hospital units. This management model, established by Law No. 9,637/98, was conceived as a reflection of the paradigm shift brought about by New Public Management and is presented as an alternative to the rigidity of the State in the provision of public policies, seeking greater efficiency by establishing partnerships between the Public Sector and the Third Sector in the provision of goods and services that are not exclusive to the State. An econometric model of Differences-in-Differences with two-way fixed effects, at the level of hospital
unit and year, was developed to estimate the effect of the implementation of OSS management on the mortality rate from Primary Care-Sensitive Hospitalizations (PCSH). Additionally, the Staggered Differences-in-Differences model was applied as a robustness test to validate the results and ensure that the observed effects were consistent over time, considering the different adoption dates of the treatment. The estimated results indicate that OSS management significantly contributed to the reduction of the mortality rate from Primary Care-Sensitive Hospitalizations, both in the model without control variables and in the model with these variables. This result supports the hypothesis that OSS management is more efficient in managerial aspects, which are reflected in health indicators, as this group of primary diagnoses indicates illnesses that can be clinically treated when various procedures within Primary Care are followed, such as preventive measures, correct diagnosis, and appropriate treatment. Thus, the study constitutes a contribution to the understanding of the impacts of this management model, corroborating the hypothesis that by ceasing to be a direct provider of public policies and assuming a regulatory role, the State can achieve more efficient results in the provision of public policies.