OBJECTIVE: To describe the relationship between the prescribing physician, lawyer and pharmaceutical industry in lawsuits against the state.
METHODS:Retrospective descriptive study based on data from administrative fi les, relating to lawsuits involving medicine demands, in the State of Minas Gerais, from October 1999 to October 2009. The variables studied were: gender, age, benefi ciaries' illness, type of medical care (public or private), prescriber, type of legal representation and requested medication. A descriptive analysis of the variables with the distribution of frequencies was carried out.
RESULTS:A total of 2,412 lawsuits were analyzed with 2,880 medicine requests, including 18 different drugs, 12 of them provided through Pharmaceutical Policies of the Brazilian National Health System (SUS). The most frequent medicines requested were adalimumab, etanercept, infl iximab, insulin glargine and tiotropium bromide. The main diseases were rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, diabetes mellitus and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Private lawyers and doctors were predominant. The results revealed the association between doctors and law offi ces on drug requests. Among the lawsuits fi led by the offi ce A, 43.6% had a single prescriber of adalimumab, while 29 doctors were responsible for 40.2% of the same drug prescriptions. A single doctor was responsible for 16.5% of the adalimumab prescriptions, being requested through lawsuits fi led by a single private law offi ce in 44.8% of legal proceedings.
CONCLUSIONS:A greater representation of doctors and lawyers from the private sector can hinder equity in health. The results revealed the association between doctors and law offi ces on drug requests. This is an indication that justice and medical practice have been used, at certain times, to serve the interests of the pharmaceutical industry.
DESCRIPTORS:Health lawsuits and access to health . Equity in health. Pharmaceutical industry. Incorporation of medicines. Lawsuit offi cials. Doctors.