Sistema político, políticas públicas y calidad de la atención médica a las enfermedades cardiovasculares: caso de estudio en Caracas-Venezuela

the aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of the cardiology service at the dr. carlos arvelo military hospital based on the criteria of the venezuelan state cardiovascular program. during the study period (1990-2009), two completely different political systems were in effect and had an impact on the research results. the study had a retrospective approach. we used two types of instruments and had 1421 patients discharged from the institution with a diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction as the unit of analysis. for the assessment, we used the simple random sampling audit method. the results achieved were: a) during the 1990-1999 period the quality of service was 73%, b) during the 1999-2009 period the quality was quantified as 58%. the institution was not prepared for an increase of 75% in the population served during the second period, as a result of the implementation of a policy that worsened the quality of the service.