Evaluation of comprehensiveness: ascribing meaning to agreements on goals for local health systems

As a policy guideline, ideal, or objective, comprehensiveness is a relevant attribute in the evaluation of quality of care and health systems. The article discusses the meaning of the concept of comprehensiveness in practice in some health services and systems, analyzing various methodologies to implement the concept. In Brazil, what prevails is an expanded perception emphasizing the complete, continuous, and coordinated nature of health care and management. The article highlights the importance of combining the evaluation of comprehensiveness with measures of access, suggesting the selection of indicators pertaining to agreements on goals for local health systems and their monitoring. This initiative could enhance the validity of existing evaluation instruments, from a communications perspective.