Organization of health care for chronic conditions by Family Health teams in the Amazon

We describe health care organization, mainly as for chronic diseases, by Family Health Strategy teams in Amazonas State and Amazon region, Brazil. The assessing research grounds on basic health units' observation and on interviews with professionals. The results indicate high professionals' turnover, low availability of essential inputs to care; fragmented care organization; limited use of protocols, planning and scheduling based on risk and vulnerability criteria. The current condition is reflected in the lack of care longitudinal follow up and comprehensiveness, which relies on spontaneous demand and is addressed to clinical complaints.