Health General Directorate – DGS is a central service of the Ministry of Health of Portugal that regulates, guide and coordinate health promotion and disease prevention activities; define technical conditions for healthcare provision; plan the national policy for health system quality; and prepare and execute the National Health Plan. It is headed by the Director General of Health, assisted by two Deputy Directors General of Health, and includes 4 service directorates, 9 divisions, 2 multidisciplinary units and 12 priority health programmes.