The economic-industrial health care complex and the social and economic dimension of development

Abstract

The strategic role of health care in the national development agenda has been increasingly recognized and institutionalized. In addition to its importance as a structuring element of the Social Welfare State, health care plays a leading role in the generation of innovation - an essential element for competitiveness in knowledge society. However, health care's productive basis is still fragile, and this negatively affects both the universal provision of health care services and Brazil's competitive inclusion in the globalized environment. This situation suggests the need of a more systematic analysis of the complex relationships among productive, technological and social interests in the scope of health care. Consequently, it is necessary to produce further knowledge about the Economic-Industrial Health Care Complex due to its potential for contributing to a socially inclusive development model. This means reversing the hierarchy between economic and social interests in the sanitary field, thus minimizing the vulnerability of the Brazilian health care policy.