Secondary health care: best practices in the health services network.

OBJECTIVE: to understand the organization of health practices, based on the interactions at the secondary care level, and to analyze how the actions and services at this level of care contribute to the development of best practice in health.
METHOD: a qualitative approach, based in Grounded Theory. Data was obtained from individual interviews, with managers, health care professionals and health service users making up the sample group representing the secondary level of healthcare. The theoretical model was formulated based on four categories, analyzed based in the elements of the network modeling of health care theoretical framework.
RESULTS: The organization of health practices at a secondary level is in the process of consolidation and is contributing to the development of best practices in the locale studied.
CONCLUSION: The broadening of access to consultations and specialized procedures, and the articulation of the network's points, are aspects of this level of care which are considered essential for care which is effective and integral. This study contributes to the analysis of health practices from the perspective of network modeling, based on the interactions between secondary care and the health system's other health facilities, which are shown as going through a process of consolidation in the locale studied.