JUDICIALIZATION OF HEALTH IN THE WESTERN AMAZON

The present work addresses the theme of health judicialization and its impacts within the budget. It analyzes the financial effects of court decisions in the Municipal Health Secretariat of Porto Velho, capital of the state of Rondônia. As a temporal delimitation, the period between the years 2014 to 2017 was taken into account. The paper goal is to examine the judicialization phenomenon and which impacts it brings to the administrative scope. The research has a bibliographic and documentary nature, consulting scientific articles, books, websites and especially transparency portals of the entities that institute and gather data on the budget execution of the health area in the Municipality of Porto Velho. The study works with a qualitative approach on the budget, related to the resources that are provided by the municipality of Porto Velho. It is concluded that the financial, structural and intellectual planning is essential for the municipal entity to be able to implement the fundamental social rights to health, as well as the related public policy, which is often affected by excessive judicialization.

Institutional Clashes Beyond the Judicialization of Health: Overlapping Powers in the Case of the Cancer Pill

The 1988 Brazilian Federal Constitution institutes the promotion of “universal and equal access” to health care for Brazilian citizens. In this article, we will focus on the use and distribution of medicines as one of the national health system components. The organization responsible for standardizing and regulating the production and consumption of products and services is ANVISA – National Health Surveillance Agency, which works like the FDA (Federal Drug Administration). A unique episode took place in 2015 when a “popular uprising” began to take shape in Brazil around an issue regulated by ANVISA. Cancer patients had started to file lawsuits calling for access and permission to use a drug not authorized by this agency and which, according to the askers, supposedly would cure their disease. This drug is named phosphoethanolamine (popular name, cancer pill). Apart from the efficacy or otherwise of the drug in question, it might be interesting to organizational studies why a government organization may miss legitimation to exercise its legal role due to popular pressure, which strongly diverges from court decisions, especially involving power and legal interpretation. We approach theoretical possibilities about judicialization of health discussing triggers of institutional and social conflicts (a) by surveying studies that deal with judicialization calling for supply or release of medication (b) possible connections already established in the academy with the so-called cancer pill and, finally, (c) relating such situations to the concept of institutional void.

Judicialization of Health in Brazil: Categorization of decision-making stages by the Supreme Federal Court and the impacts on the Unified Health System

This article intends to analyze the decision-making stages of the judicialization of public health policy in Brazil by the highest legal court in the country — the Supreme Federal Court of Justice (STF). Subsequently, we present the most relevant criticisms of the excessive judicialization of health, attempting, to list alternatives in order to discuss a possible program of improvements for public health policy, having as its main element the dialogue between the Brazilian Justice and Health Systems. The methodology used can be characterized as quali-quantitative, considering that data collection was used on the STF website for research and analysis of judicial decisions, as well as a biographically doctrinaire review.

Judicialization of health during the COVID-19 pandemic in Pará state, Northern region of Brazil

In Brazil, the right to health has constitutional universal provision. However, its incompleteness and the scarcity of structural and human resources leads people who would benefit from access to specific health services, mainly the ones in intensive care need - as currently intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic -, to appeal to judicial way to obtain access to them. The aim of this study was to problematize the relation between the insufficient number of ICU (Intensive Care Unit) beds at the current demands for them due to the COVID-19 pandemic through judicialization. The data from the Ministry of Health database were confronted with the literature on the judicialization of health within the national scope, with attention to the statistical data of Pará state’s Court of Justice. There were 14 actions aimed at guaranteeing access to the ICU beds in the period from 03/20/2020 to 05/25/2020 in Pará state. The availability of these in the state (1,718) represents 9% of the total number of beds, below the national average, both beneath the ideal determined by the World Health Organization (ideal rate of 3 to 5 ICU beds for every thousand inhabitants). In conclusion, the judicialization of health can be a sign of dysfunctions and failures in the management of the health systems, evidenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, which could lead to the possibility of scarcity of health resources in the country.

Consecuencias políticas e institucionales de la judicialización de la salud en Brasil y Colombia: un análisis comparado

El objetivo de este artículo es analizar las consecuencias políticas e institucionales de la judicialización de la salud en Brasil y Colombia. Para esto, se realizó una revisión de la literatura, basada en referencias relacionadas con las políticas en salud y judicialización de los países. La salud es un derecho reconocido en Brasil y en Colombia, mas hay diferencias entre los sistemas de salud y jurídicos. Los problemas de acceso han provocado el aumento de las acciones judiciales, lo que lleva a efectos políticos e institucionales. En Brasil, fueron realizadas audiencias públicas; conformados grupos de interés y creadas nuevas instituciones en el poder executivo y en el judiciario. En Colombia, fueron instituidas políticas y reformas estructurales importantes. Se espera que los resultados contribuyan para las discusiones de las políticas y judicialización, con vistas a buscarse la efectuación de lo derecho a la salud en los dos países. This paper aims to analyze the political and institutional consequences of the judicialization of health in Brazil and Colombia. For that, it was accomplished a literature review, based on references in health policies and judicialization in both countries. Health is a right recognized in Brazil and in Colombia, but there are differences between the health and juridical systems. Problems of access has induced growth of judicial processes, what lead to political and institutional effects. In Brazil, it was fulfilled public audiences; shaped interests groups and created new institutions in executive and judiciary branches. In Colombia, it was instituted policies and structural reforms. We hope that the results contribute to the discussions about policies, judicialization and the search for the right to health in the countries.

Judicialization of health arising from prepaid insurance plans and health law: an integrative review

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze publications regarding judicial demands related to the violation of the rights of the client who uses private health insurance in Brazil. Method: Integrative review, from September to October 2017, of national character, with complete texts online, in Portuguese and English, published between 2012 and 2017 in the Virtual Health Library portal, excluding studies that were duplicated or with indiscriminate methodology. Results: The judicial demands were for: medication (32%); ward hospitalization (11%); surgical procedures (9%); orthosis, prothesis and special materials (9%); others (9%); and diagnostic procedures, outpatient service, hospitalization in Intensive Care Units, food formulas and disposable diapers (30%). Conclusion: The prevalence of legal disputes arising from the failure in providing health service by private health insurances was observed, which makes it easier for the administrators to identify the sought health products and services in order to reorganize the administrative sphere and provide quality care.