Intermunicipal Consortia: Case Study of the Public Health Consortium in Northwest Border of RS

The study analyzes an intermunicipal organization, the Public Health Consortium Northwest Border of Rio Grande do Sul – COFRON, having as its main purpose to investigate the health services of medium and high complexity, in 25 cities, working with the qualitative, exploratory and descriptive approach, content analysis, interpreting collected data from bibliographic, documental and empirical research. This means identify and analyze the relationships between health and development, the dimensions as a right. In order to answer the proposed challenges, data collection was used, the interview applied as a questionnaire with open questions with one of the consortium managers, in three municipal health secretaries, with strong indications of the importance and relevance of the consortium, on enlarging services and professionals in medium and high complexity, as well as reducing costs by 25%. As aspects to improve, the qualification of the functional structure of the consortium is highlighted, especially the management as a whole. Finally, the research points to a successful experience of the consortium, by expanding the needs of the 25 cities, by promoting an environment of cooperation and by enhancing public health policies