After more than a year of the pandemic, the ANS (National Supplementary Health Agency) changed the rules for carrying out RT-PCR exams, used for the diagnosis of covid-19. Before the change, health plans could take up to three business days to guarantee service to beneficiaries.

With the new measure, private hospital care networks are now obliged to immediately release the testing of requests that meet the conditions established in the DUT (Use Directive). The DUTs are rules issued by the ANS that guide and regulate the use of medical procedures and complementary exams.

According to information released by the ANS, the measure comes to "give more agility in the performance of RT-PCR", considered as the most effective to identify and confirm that patients are positive for covid-19 at the beginning of the disease.

The RT-PCR exam has mandatory coverage for health plan beneficiaries in the outpatient, hospital or referral segment, as requested by the attending physician, for patients with GS (Influenza Syndrome) or SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome).

Influenza Syndrome is characterized when the patient has an acute respiratory condition, with at least two of the following symptoms:

• fever (even if referred)
• chills, sore throat
• headache
• cough
• coryza
• olfactory disorders or taste disorders

In children, nasal obstruction is also considered, in the absence of another specific diagnosis. SARS, on the other hand, causes patients to present one of the following symptoms, according to the ANS:

• dyspnea/respiratory discomfort
• persistent pressure in the chest
• O2 saturation less than 95% in room air
• bluish discoloration of the lips or face

In children, in addition to the previous items, it is necessary to observe the flaring of the nose, cyanosis, intercostal retraction, dehydration and inappetence.

TCU demands that Saúde allocates tests that may expire without being used

Yesterday the TCU (Union Court of Auditors) determined that the Ministry of Health give immediate destination to RT-PCR tests for covid-19, acquired by the federal government. The expiration of the materials will occur between the months of May and June of this year.

If the portfolio fails to comply with the determination, it may be fined and liable for damage to the treasury. The document obtained by UOL was signed by Minister Benjamin Zymler, who notes the federal government's "difficulty" in releasing the stock of tests that could help diagnose hundreds of Brazilians.

“If this rate persists, there is an imminent risk of not having an adequate destination for the currently available stock that is about to expire. kits, a higher number, therefore, than the average (6,179) of the last twelve months", says the TCU document.

Brazil lost 21,172 people to complications from Covid-19 in the week ending April 10. The number is a record in the country and marks the week with the most deaths from the disease.

Source: From UOL, in São Paulo = 04/13/2021 17:21 Updated 04/16/2021 15:41