Interface between the different levels of health care: challenge of the complementarity

Abstract

Objective: to identify, in the scientific production, researched aspects about of the interface between the different levels of health. Methods: integrative review, realized in the period from 1990 to 2012, with data collected in the Latin American and Caribbean Health Science Literature Database, using the descriptors: referral and consultation; continuity of patient care; health services accessibility, and the word “itinerary”. The searches took place in the month of May 2013. Results: it was grouped in sense nucleus: relations between the health services and the health professionals and users; organization of health services; participation of users in the services of health; and permanent education. Final considerations: the continuity of care depends on the relations between workers and users and co-responsibility for care. It propose a reflection about the professional formation to encourage interdisciplinarity and to engage the user in the construction of the network