Ebserh and its management role in university hospitals

The Brazilian Hospital Services Company (Ebserh) is a public institution linked to the Ministry of Education and responsible for managing federal university hospitals in Brazil.

Created in 2011 by Law No. 12,550, the company was set up to professionalize the administration of these institutions, improve the quality of care provided to the population and strengthen teaching and research at federal universities.

University hospitals have always played a strategic role in the Brazilian healthcare system. They work simultaneously as:

• care units for the population;

• training centers for healthcare professionals;

• hubs for scientific research.

Before Ebserh was created, many of these hospitals faced administrative, financial and operational difficulties. The company was established precisely to offer a more standardized management model, with greater capacity for investment and organization.

Today, Ebserh manages the largest network of public university-linked hospitals in the country. Ebserh hires professionals through public competitive examinations, under the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT) regime.

What is Ebserh’s role?

Ebserh’s main role is to manage and support the operation of federal university hospitals, ensuring that these institutions fulfill their three main missions: healthcare, teaching and research.

Its responsibilities include:

Hospital management

Ebserh takes over the administration of federal university hospitals through contracts signed with public universities.

Healthcare through SUS

The hospitals managed by the company provide care entirely through the Unified Health System (SUS), Brazil’s public health system.

Training healthcare professionals

These units are used to train physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals.

Healthcare research and innovation

University hospitals are essential settings for developing clinical and technological research.

Modernizing hospital management

The company introduces administrative processes, management systems and governance policies focused on efficiency and transparency.

This model allows universities to remain responsible for academic activities, while Ebserh takes care of administrative and hospital management.

What are university hospitals?

University hospitals are healthcare institutions linked to universities that perform three fundamental functions:

Care for the population:they provide medical care to the population, generally within the Unified Health System (SUS).

Teaching and professional training:they serve as a practice setting for students of medicine, nursing, physical therapy, nutrition and other health fields.

Scientific research: these hospitals carry out clinical studies, academic research and healthcare innovation projects.

Because they bring care, teaching and research together in the same setting, university hospitals are considered essential to the development of the healthcare system.

Many high-complexity procedures, for example, are performed in these hospitals, which have highly specialized teams and infrastructure geared toward scientific research.

How many university hospitals does Ebserh manage?

The network managed by Ebserh currently includes more than 40 federal university hospitals, spread across every region of the country.

These units are linked to several federal universities and form one of the largest public hospital networks in Brazil.

According to the company’s own institutional data, this network:

• serves millions of patients every year through SUS;

• offers thousands of hospital beds;

• trains tens of thousands of healthcare professionals;

• conducts clinical and scientific research in different medical specialties.

In addition to providing direct care to the population, these hospitals play a fundamental role in training the workforce of the Brazilian healthcare system.

University hospitals across Brazil. Source: Ebserh.

How does Ebserh manage university hospitals?

Management takes place through contracts signed between Ebserh and the federal universities.

In this model:

• the university remains responsible for academic activities;

• Ebserh takes over hospital and administrative management;

• care remains entirely linked to SUS.

The company takes over the management of areas such as:

• human resources;

• procurement and contracts;

• financial management;

• hospital infrastructure;

• strategic planning.

This arrangement seeks to ensure greater administrative efficiency without compromising the universities’ academic autonomy.

Why does Ebserh matter to the healthcare system?

The creation of Ebserh was an attempt to solve long-standing management problems faced by federal university hospitals.

The expected impacts of the model include:

• improved hospital governance;

• expanded care capacity;

• modernized hospital infrastructure;

• stronger training of healthcare professionals;

• greater integration between care, teaching and research.

In addition, because it serves exclusively through SUS, the Ebserh network plays an important role in expanding the population’s access to medium- and high-complexity healthcare services.

FAQ – frequently asked questions about Ebserh

What does Ebserh stand for?

Ebserh is the acronym for Empresa Brasileira de Serviços Hospitalares (Brazilian Hospital Services Company). It is a public company linked to the Ministry of Education, created to manage and support the management of federal university hospitals in Brazil.

The company works on the administrative organization of these units, on hiring professionals and on modernizing hospital management, while care for the population continues to be provided through the Unified Health System (SUS).

When was Ebserh created?

Ebserh was created in 2011, through Law No. 12,550, with the goal of structuring a more efficient management model for federal university hospitals.

The company was created to address long-standing problems at these institutions, such as administrative difficulties, budget constraints and a lack of structure for hiring professionals.

Is Ebserh a public or private company?

Ebserh is a federal public company, part of the indirect public administration.

This means it is wholly owned by the federal government, is linked to the Ministry of Education and follows the governance rules that apply to state‑owned companies.

How many hospitals are part of the Ebserh network?

The Ebserh network manages more than 40 federal university hospitals, spread across every region of Brazil.

These units are linked to several federal universities and form one of the largest public hospital networks in the country, responsible for millions of patient visits every year in the Unified Health System.

Do patients pay for care at Ebserh hospitals?

No. Hospitals managed by Ebserh provide care entirely through SUS.

This means the services provided to the population are free of charge and funded by the public health system.

In addition to patient care, these hospitals also carry out teaching and research activities linked to the federal universities.

What is the difference between a university hospital and a regular hospital?

The main difference lies in the academic and scientific role of university hospitals.

While conventional hospitals focus exclusively on care, university hospitals also act as:

• training centers for healthcare professionals;

• hands-on teaching settings for students;

• hubs for scientific research and medical innovation.

For this reason, they play a strategic role in training the physicians, nurses and other specialists who will work in the Brazilian healthcare system.

Who manages federal university hospitals?

These hospitals are managed through a partnership between federal universities and Ebserh.

In this model:

• the university remains responsible for academic activities;

• Ebserh takes over administrative and hospital management;

• care remains linked to SUS.

This structure seeks to combine professional management with the educational mission of higher education institutions.