The judicialization of oral and maxillofacial surgery and the Health Assistance System of Public Servants in Pernambuco

Abstract

The Brazilian Federal Constitution of 1988 was a pioneer in providing the right to health as a fundamental right and regulating the supplementary  health system. Several states have  created plans aimed exclusively at their servants, and  Pernambuco was the pioneer to conceive them, 
through the Health Assistance System of the Servants of the State of Pernambuco. The  technological advances, the increase of life  expectancy (and the consequent early tooth loss) and the traumas have caused an increase in the use of  orthoses, prostheses and special materials in invasive  procedures - providing, among other  benefits, esthetic repair. However, there are obstacles to the use of these materials, including  their high cost and the lack of private health insurance coverage for esthetic procedures. The  judicial proceedings involving orthoses, prostheses and special materials in oral and maxillofacial  surgery against the Health Assistance System of the  Servants of the State of Pernambuco were analyzed,  from January 2009 to December 2017. The purpose was to defend that the indication of the material to  be used by the dental surgeon cannot be considered as an absolute criterion and that the Judiciary should not accept such an opinion without questioning it. It was verified the need to open a larger structure to the magistrates, with the creation of centers for  technical assistance in health and/or investments in the existing one, in order to subsidize the judges and  ensure a greater efficiency in the solution of the  demands.