Health regionalization in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil: view of state managers

This article aims to analyze, from the perspective of state administrators, the implementation health regionalization process in Rio Grande do beginning in the 2000s. This is a qualitative descriptive study, conducted in the State Health Department. We obtained information from ten structured interviews with state administrators from the central level. We interpreted the using content analysis, thematic method. results, we highlight the improvement in healthcare quality, the progress in the organization state's health system, the change in the role the state administration, the development the technology and the acknowledgment of making spaces for decision-making. We note the system's fragmentation and the historical planning insufficiency hamper regional governance. In conclusion, implementing a culture of strategic management is necessary, with the backing adequate resource allocation and enhancement governance in the health regions.