Legal actions and administrative demands related to the guarantee of the right to drugs access in the city of Florianópolis-SC

Abstract

This study aims at analyzing the requests for drugs by individual users, from 2003 to 2006, in the city of Florianópolis. It was analyzed 2,426 authorizations for the supply of 5,645 drugs and 5,283 correlated products in the Secretary for Health, the Secretary for Social Development and in the Volunteering Association of Florianópolis, considering the types of drugs requested, costs and characteristics of those who requested them. Secretary of Health received the highest number of requests throughout the years and the authorizations for purchase did not present all the data of the requests. The main type of demand met by the Secretary of Health was originated from judicial decisions, while the main type met by the Secretary for Social Development was internal demands. The most frequently requested class of drugs, whether by legal writ or not, was the one which affects the Nervous System, with Carbamazepine being the primary medication, while a Pimecrolimus cream was the most frequently requested medication representing the highest cost. The majority of the drugs were prescribed by their commercial name and 32% of them were standardized by the Brazilian National Health System. It is concluded that the supply of drugs by direct purchase is not adequately dealt by the municipal pharmaceutical assistance, disrespecting the National Drug Policy.