Legal proceedings to obtain medicines in Ribeirão Preto

Abstract

This study aims to characterize lawsuits pleading for medicines in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. A descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out, which included all such judicial processes in the municipality between January 1999 and June 2014. Most of the time, public agents were responsible for legal representation (81.8% of cases), most of the prescriptions came from the private system (50.10%), and only 3% of prescribers concentrated nearly 30% of the cases. Diabetes and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were the most prevalent diseases; with analogous insulins and methylphenidate being the most required drugs. It is concluded that, on average, 30% of the city’s budget for the purchase of medicines is spent on medicines obtained through the courts.