AMB issues a note on the statement attributed to Mr. Minister of Health

This Monday, April 10, 2017, the Brazilian Medical Association (AMB) issued a note on the statement attributed to Mr. Minister of Health, Ricardo Barros, in Cambridge, United States. Check out the full note below: “Government once again errs in the subject of complementary exams. Accurate diagnosis is a fundamental condition for treating patients. Exams are part of several diagnostic, therapeutic and preventive processes. 'Normal' results do not demonstrate that tests are ordered unnecessarily. There are no references that could support the minister's statement. Unfortunately, this diagnosis made by the Ministry of Health is also wrong. It is known that some doctors exaggerate when ordering tests. This overloads the system and generates unnecessary expenses. However, analyzing this as the cause of other problems is wrong. It is a consequence of a bigger problem, generated with the consent and under the sponsorship of the Federal Government itself, which allows poorly trained doctors to reach health units from the countless medical schools opened indiscriminately, without minimal evaluations regarding the quality of training. We have long advocated evaluating medical school graduates, as well as punishing medical schools with low student performance. Blaming everyone and generalizing, in addition to being wrong, disrespects the medical profession. The Brazilian Medical Association (AMB) will respond whenever doctors and medicine are affected by prejudiced and disrespectful statements like this one. As long as analyzes of the problems and challenges of the Brazilian health system remain superficial or lack knowledge of qualified management, we will not move towards solving the enormous existing problems. The AMB remains available to help with a view to improving our health system.” Source: AMB https://cbr.org.br/amb-emite-nota-sobre-declaracao-atribuida-ao-sr-ministro-da-saude/