[Influence of self-assessment for improving access and quality in the outpatient procedures in the Dental Specialties Centers].

We studied the influence of Self-Assessment for Improving Access and Quality (AMAQ) in the production of specialized procedures in the of Dental Specialties Centers (DSC). Data were obtained from the 900 DSC submitted to the external evaluation of the Program for Improving Access and Quality (PMAQ-CEO) and the Outpatient Information System (SIA-SUS). The dependent variable was the monthly average of dental procedures (proc/mon) in the DSC performed in three periods: 1) October 2012 to September 2013; 2) October 2013 to September 2014; and 3) October 2014 to September 2015. The main independent variable was the use of AMAQ/CEO, which occurred during the second period. Type of DSC, average number of dentists with a 20-hour workload, strategies to reduce missing appointments, referral support, clinical protocols and coverage of PHC registered users were used as covariates. Multiple linear regression models were run to estimate adjusted differences. Teams that used AMAQ-CEO had a mean of 515.0 proc/mon, 575.5 proc/mon, and 519.9 proc/mon in the first, second and third periods, respectively. The DSC that used AMAQ-CEO had a higher mean than those that did not, with an adjusted difference of 32.7 proc/mon, 64.7 proc/mon and 27.7 proc/mon for the first, second and third periods, respectively.