Ways of inserting physicians into the healthcare production process: case of study of basic healthcare units in Belo Horizonte, Brazil

The main purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze the ways of inserting physicians into the health production process. This subject is justified by a belief that that this way of working may be a problem but at the same time may well be the key to implementing healthcare models that are ethically and politically committed to the lives of public health system users. Initially, the problem is presented through the construction of an archetype physician and his historical and social and cultural conditioning factors, taking the work processes of physicians at Basic Healthcare Units in Belo Horizonte as an example that is built up through interviews and participative observations. Some possibilities for intervention are indicated through the introduction of new concepts and technologies that could transform the work of these practitioners in ways that would build up links with more responsibility for the care and lives of users of public healthcare services.