Judicialização da saúde: análise das demandas judiciais por fórmulas nutricionais no Estado do Rio Grande do Norte

Abstract

Nutrition and food play an essential role in health, supported by the National Food and Nutrition Policy and the Federal Constitution of 1988. However, nutritional formulas, which are used to treat or prevent nutritional problems, are often difficult to afford due to high costs and lack of free access through the healthcare system. This study aims to understand the judicial actions for the supply of nutritional formulas demanded against the state of Rio Grande do Norte in the period from 2017 to 2021. The study is of the exploratory descriptive type, and a database containing individual legal case data filed against the state during the aforementioned period was used. Descriptive data analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel version 2306. A total of 132 active cases were identified. The majority of claimants are female (52.3%), belonging to the child and adolescent population (40.9%). Neurological diseases accounted for 40.2% of the total indications for nutritional formulas. Regarding the origin of the claimants, most of them came from the 7th health region of RN - Natal and the metropolitan region (49%). The seizure of funds was involved in 54.5% of all cases, and the prescription for the formula was made by a nutritionist in 66.7% of cases compared to a medical prescription. In terms of costs incurred through legal claims, the total accumulated during the evaluated period was R$ 3,828,262.00, with an annual average expenditure of R$ 765,652.50. Modified and pediatric formulas accounted for the majority of costs during the evaluated period, at 44.6% and 44.1%, respectively. The average number of days between legal action and the date of the judicial decision was 28.8 days, and the total time from legal action to treatment was approximately 64.8 days. The findings revealed a notable concentration of claimants in Natal. This points to the need for a more detailed analysis of local conditions and healthcare policies to ensure that the region's specific needs are adequately met. Furthermore, there is a constant increase in the number of requests for nutritional formulas over the evaluated years. The cost of judicialization of nutritional formulas is still relatively lower in comparison to medications, suggesting an opportunity to assess resource allocation within the healthcare system to meet the nutritional needs of these claimants.