Limitations and Considerations

This analysis has a few limitations and points that warrant further clarification or exploration.

The dataset APAC-AQ contains duplicate values for the AP_AUTORIZ field (Description: "Número da APAC. Lei de formação: UFAATsssssssd, onde UF – Unid. da Federação, AA – ano, T – tipo, sssssss – sequencial, d – dígito"), which may indicate that the same document is being counted multiple times, or that multiple procedures can share the same code. To avoid any potential data loss, all values for AP_AUTORIZ were retained in the analysis.
The dataset APAC-AQ from 2022 for Roraima (RR) only comprised 10 files (from the expected 12). The reason for this discrepancy is currently unknown.
The medication scheme fields in APAC-AQ (AQ_ESQU_P1("ESQUEMA:5 primeiras posições"),AQ_ESQU_P2("ESQUEMA: 10 últimas posições")) contain valuable information about the treatment schemes used, but the data is not standardized and its format is not easily readable, making it difficult to analyze and understand.
A substantial number of values for Valor Total da APAC Aprovado are equal to zero. It is unclear whether these represent procedures with no associated costs or if there is another explanation. ¹

The dataset APAC-AM from 2022 for Rio Grande do Sul (RS) only comprised 09 files (from the expected 12). The reason for this discrepancy is currently unknown.
A substantial number of values for Valor Total da APAC Aprovado are equal to zero. It is unclear whether these represent procedures with no associated costs or if there is another explanation. ¹

There are two main reasons for APACs approved with zero value: (1) In ongoing treatments like chemotherapy, continuity APACs may be issued for months without procedures, resulting in zero value despite approval; (2) Some procedures (e.g., high-cost drugs from CEAF) are funded through other mechanisms (e.g., state budgets), and thus appear with zero value in the SUS table, as payment is made separately ↩↩