Mais Médicos Program: identification and analysis of open medical undergraduate programs

Abstract

Launched in 2013, the Mais Médicos Program (PMM) aimed to combat poor physician allocation in Brazil by reorganizing the offer of Medicine Programs. Thus, this study investigates the impact of the PMM on the opening of new medical undergraduate programs in Brazil, identifying those offered as a result of the law. By means of documentary research in the Ministry of Education databases, the study identified a total of new 135 medical programs opened between January 2014 and February 2022, 68 of which as a result of the PMM, mostly in the private network (79%). The preference for opening new courses in the Southeast (35%) may be due to its larger structure, which would facilitate implementation and establishing partnerships with hospital organizations for the required practical teaching. The findings point to an expansion of private programs in the Northeast, Southeast and South, and of public programs in the Mid-West and North regions. However, a detailed regional analysis showed that public policy has failed in combating poor medical allocation through this strategy, as it prioritized states with considerable labor force indicators.