Judicial recourse and access to health technologies: opportunities and risks/Judicializacion y acceso a tecnologias sanitarias: oportunidades y riesgos/ Judicializacao e acesso a tecnologias em saude: oportunidades e riscos

• Published in: Revista panamericana de salud pública 2017-12, Vol.41 (8)
• Main Authors: Di Fabio, Jose Luis, Vidal, Jaume
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• ISSN: 1020-4989

Use of litigation to ensure and guarantee access to medical inputs constitutes one of the most effective strategies to ensure observance (or remedy the violation) of the right to health, often in relation to other fundamental human rights such as the right to life or to bodily integrity. More frequently, and in multiple national contexts, judges and courts support lawsuits filed by individuals who need immediate access to health technologies. On many occasions, the rulings that force the State and its institutions to guarantee the supply of a given product do not take into account the reasons the State gives for not providing it, which can range from cost-effectiveness calculations and evaluation, to public policy planning and implementation. Use and abuse of legal proceedings by interested third parties threaten the legitimacy of an instrument that has contributed, without a doubt, to strengthening public engagement in the defense of people's rights, including the right to health. This document is an attempt to provide a context for the evolution of this phenomenon with regard to the instruments, mechanisms, and procedures commonly used by health authorities to efficiently organize access to health technologies. In addition, steps to follow are suggested for both national and regional settings. Keywords Pharmaceutical preparations; health services accessibility; judiciary; legislation; jurisprudence La utilizacion de la via judicial para asegurar y garantizar el acceso a insumos medicos constituye una de las estrategias mas efectivas para asegurar el cumplimiento (o remediar la violacion) del derecho a la salud, a menudo en relacion con otros derechos humanos fundamentales como el derecho a la vida o a la integridad fisica. De manera mas frecuente y en multiples contextos nacionales, jueces y cortes respaldan las demandas interpuestas por particulares que necesitan acceso inmediato a tecnologias sanitarias. En muchas ocasiones, las sentencias que obligan al Estado y a sus instituciones a garantizar el suministro de un producto determinado no toman en consideracion las razones aducidas por el Estado para no suministrarlo que pueden variar desde calculos de costeefectividad a procesos de evaluacion, planificacion y ejecucion de politicas publicas. La utilizacion y abuso de procedimientos judiciales por terceras partes interesadas amenaza la legitimidad de un instrumento que ha contribuido, sin lugar a dudas, a fortalecer la participacion de la ciudadania en