Ubatuba evaluates joining São Paulo's integrated SUS ombudsman platform

Representatives from the municipality of Ubatuba attended a technical meeting on 14 April organized by the São Paulo State Health Secretariat to present a modernization project for the SUS Ombudsman network. The proposal calls for a digital platform that would integrate municipal, state and federal health ombudsmen, standardising the registration, tracking and handling of citizen complaints.

Ubatuba’s health ombudsman, Cláudio de Campos Junior, said the initiative is “fundamental to sensitize the health ombudsmen of São Paulo to adopt the SES’s digital system, as it optimises the management of citizens’ manifestations and serves as a powerful management tool.” Municipal ombudsman general Thiago Alves Cardozo highlighted the interactive demonstration of the system’s database and APIs, noting that “we learned the whole system, including the technical parts such as the database and the APIs that allow communication between different software.”

The new system will be dedicated exclusively to SUS‑related complaints, allowing those cases to be integrated into the State Ombudsman Network with a specific workflow for monitoring, forwarding to competent units, deadline tracking and the generation of management indicators. It will not replace the general Fala.BR platform used for other municipal demands. Adoption would enable Ubatuba to directly connect to the state network, streamline information exchange, reduce procedural steps and improve monitoring of health service demands. The platform also produces reports that can support public‑policy planning.

State data show that 53 % of São Paulo’s municipalities already have SUS ombudsmen, with the network comprising more than 290 units and handling thousands of annual manifestations. After the presentation, Ubatuba’s administration will assess whether to sign the agreement and join the state platform.