Between justice and public management: interinstitutional collaboration in health litigation

Abstract

The Brazilian justice system does more than simply review the legality of public policies and oversee their implementation. Looking at health litigation in Brazil reveals how judges, public lawyers, and prosecutors are increasingly involved in policy management, as they comprehend that the rising number of lawsuits seeking healthcare treatment requires management and inter-organizational coordination. This article explores this phenomenon by assessing initiatives of inter-institutional collaboration between actors in the justice and healthcare systems in four Brazilian states: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul. By operationalizing the typology developed by McNamara (2012, 2016), this study compares the levels of integration in these responses and traces the collaborative “profile” of each state’s approach to dealing with health litigation.

Keywords:
health litigation; inter-organizational collaboration; public health; justice system