Health Systems and the Financial Impact of Dental Treatment in Cancer

The Brazilian Health care System is Universalist, where the treatment of patients with cancer is full and free, secured by law with the obligation to be initiated within sixty days of its diagnosis. The regulation of antineoplastic therapy and the hospital network that is licenced and certified for the treatment of cancer is standardized by the Ministry of Health / National Cancer Institute José Alencar Gomes da Silva [Instituto Nacional de Câncer José Alencar Gomes da Silva] (INCA). Dental care in cancer patients is mandatory to prevent and treat oral complications; whose protocol is standardized by INCA to be applied throughout the hospital network enabled in oncotherapy. Objective: A study of the dental treatment was carried out in patients diagnosed with cancer attended at a High Complexity Oncology Care Unit / Unidade de Assistência de Alta Complexidade em Oncologia (UNACON) in order to evaluate the financial impact of oral care in oncotherapy. Material and Method: Evaluation of the medical records of patients treated at the Oncological Dentistry Service (SODONCO) of UNACON of the General Hospital of Palmas (HGP) / Tocantins (TO) from April 2011 to December 2016. Results: A total of 607 medical records were reviewed, showing a significant financial impact in dental treatment in oncotherapy. Conclusion: The study shows the importance of standardizing the oral care protocol in oncotherapy, the organization of a structured database for the registration of dental treatment, in spite of carrying out the planning of human and financial resources for dental treatment in cancer patients.