Incorporation of medicines in the Unified Health System (SUS): comparison between oncology and the specialized component of pharmaceutical care

Abstract

Compliance with legal deadlines for the assessment and incorporation of technologies in Brazil’s Unified Health System (SUS) is essential to ensure public access to essential medicines. The scope of this paper was to analyze the compliance with legal deadlines for incorporation and availability of medicines in the SUS, comparing Oncology and the Specialized Component of Pharmaceutical Assistance (SCPA). A comparison was made of the drugs incorporated that were submitted to Conitec in the period from January 1, 2017, to April 30, 2020. A total of 85 drugs were recommended for incorporation by Conitec, of which 15 (17.64%) were for Oncology and 70 (82.36%) were for SCPA. The time between analysis and recommendation by Conitec until the publication of the decision by the Ministry of Health was, on average, 86 days longer for oncological drugs and the availability timeframe of technologies incorporated in the oncology area was, on average, 389 days longer than for SCPA. The major progress achieved with the creation of Conitec in Brazil is acknowledged, but the results of this study point to a pressing need to improve the process of making available technologies incorporated into the SUS, especially in oncology.

Key words:
Access to Essential Medicines and Health Technologies; Biomedical Technology Assessment; Oncology; Pharmaceutical Assistance; Unified Health System