Health Systems in Transition

Health systems in transition

Portugal

2.1.1 Ministry of Health

The central government, through the Ministry of Health, is responsible for

developing health policy, and overseeing and evaluating its implementation.

Fig. 2.2 outlines the organization of the Ministry of Health. Its core function is

the regulation, planning and management of the NHS. It is also responsible for

the regulation, auditing and inspection of private health care providers, whether

they are part of the NHS or not.

Fig. 2.2

Organizational chart of the Portuguese Ministry of Health

Source

: Authors, based on SNS, 2016.

Notes

: Dotted lines represent some degree of independence from the Ministry of Health; *ADSE is under the indirect administration of

both the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance.

The policy-making process takes place within government. It is frequent that

government rulings go to institutional partners for consultation. Usually, there

is no detailed evaluation plan or ex-post assessment of policy measures. The

implementation of the policies is a task of the RHAs. The Ministry of Health

performs some assessment and audit, as well as the Court of Auditors and

the Inspectorate-General of Health-related Activities, but the policy evaluation

process is not systematic.

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