The phenomenon of judicialization of health in Brazil can point out failures in the public health system as some medicines demanded are included in its lists. However, it is a barrier for rational drug use and application of the National Drug Policy guidelines, especially when there are demanded medicines with no evidence of efficacy and that are not included in Brazilian Health System standards.

Introduction and Objective: Dengue virus is a serious global health problem with an estimated 3.97 billion people at risk for infection worldwide. In December 2015, the first vaccine (CYD-TDV) for dengue prevention was approved in Brazil, developed by Sanofi Pasteur. However, given that the vaccine will potentially be paid via the public health system, information is need regarding consumers’ willingness to pay for the dengue vaccine in the country as well as discussions related to the possible inclusion of this vaccine into the public health system. This was the objective of this research.Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with residents of Greater Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, about their willingness to pay for the CYD-TDV vaccine.Results: 507 individuals were interviewed. These were mostly female (62.4%) had completed high school (62.17%), were working (74.4%), had private health insurance (64.5%) and did not have dengue (67.4%). The maximum median value of consumers’ willingness to pay for CYD-TDV vaccine is US$33.61 (120.00BRL) for the complete schedule and US$11.20 (40.00BRL) per dose. At the price determined by the Brazil’s regulatory chamber of pharmaceutical products market for the commercialization of Dengvaxia® for three doses, only 17% of the population expressed willingness to pay for this vaccine.Conclusion: Brazil is currently one of the largest markets for dengue vaccine and the price established is a key issue. We believe the manufacturer should asses the possibility of lower prices to reach a larger audience among the Brazilian population.

Cost-effectiveness thresholds (CETs) are used to judge if an intervention represents sufficient value for money to merit adoption in healthcare systems. The study was motivated by the Brazilian context of HTA, where meetings are being conducted to decide on the definition of a threshold. Areas covered: An electronic search was conducted on Medline (via PubMed), Lilacs (via BVS) and ScienceDirect followed by a complementary search of references of included studies, Google Scholar and conference abstracts. Cost-effectiveness thresholds are usually calculated through three different approaches: the willingness-to-pay, representative of welfare economics; the precedent method, based on the value of an already funded technology; and the opportunity cost method, which links the threshold to the volume of health displaced. An explicit threshold has never been formally adopted in most places. Some countries have defined thresholds, with some flexibility to consider other factors. An implicit threshold could be determined by research of funded cases. Expert commentary: CETs have had an important role as a 'bridging concept' between the world of academic research and the 'real world' of healthcare prioritization. The definition of a cost-effectiveness threshold is paramount for the construction of a transparent and efficient Health Technology Assessment system.

Background: Chikungunya fever is an important infectious disease transmitted by the bite of Aedes genus mosquitoes infected with the Chikungunya Virus (CHIKV). Information about consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for a hypothetical vaccine against CHIKV can help discussions about prices and funding in countries with limited resources. Methods: Cross-sectional study among adult residents of Minas Gerais, Brazil, asking if they were willing to pay the price for a hypothetical chikungunya vaccine defined by the authors with an effective protection of 80% and the possibility of local and systemic side-effects. Residents were provided with information if not familiar with the virus. .90 (720.00BRL). We included this aspect due to issues with any anchoring effect. Results: 496 individuals were interviewed. Among these, 23 were excluded. Most of the respondents were female (57.3%), had completed at least high school (90.7%), were employed (87.7%) and had private health insurance (62.6%). The median value of the WTP was US$ 31.17 (120.00 BRL) for a unique dose vaccine. There was a statistical significant correlation with monthly family income and access to private health insurance. Conclusion: This study can contribute to decision-making about potential prices for a CHIKV vaccine when it becomes available in Brazil. We also showed the anchoring effect as a possible influence on consumers' WTP in studies with similar techniques. Finally, we encourage the development of a chikungunya virus vaccine to benefit the Brazilian population.

Changes in modern societies originate the perception that ethical behaviour is essential in organization’s practices especially in the way they deal with aspects such as human rights. These issues are usually under the umbrella of the concept of social responsibility. Recently the Report of the International Bioethics Committee of UNESCO on Social Responsibility and Health has addressed this concept of social responsibility in the context of health care delivery suggesting a new paradigm in hospital governance. The objective of this paper is to address the issue of corporate social responsibility in health care, namely in the hospital setting, emphasising the special governance arrangements of such complex organisations and to evaluate if new models of hospital management (entrepreneurism) will need robust mechanisms of corporate governance to fulfil its social responsiveness. The scope of this responsible behaviour requires hospitals to fulfil its social and market objectives, in accordance to the law and general ethical standards. Social responsibility includes aspects like abstention of harm to the environment or the protection of the interests of all the stakeholders enrolled in the deliverance of health care. In conclusion, adequate corporate governance and corporate strategy are the gold standard of social responsibility. In a competitive market hospital governance will be optimised if the organization culture is reframed to meet stakeholders’ demands for unequivocal assurances on ethical behaviour. Health care organizations should abide to this new governance approach that is to create organisation value through performance, conformance and responsibility.

Background: Zika virus is a newly emerging infection, associated with increasingly large outbreaks especially in tropical countries such as Brazil. A future Zika vaccine can contribute to decreasing the number of cases and associated complications. Information about consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for a hypothetical Zika vaccine can help price setting discussions in the future in Brazil, starting with the private market. Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted among residents of Minas Gerais, Brazil, regarding their WTP for a hypothetical Zika Vaccine. The mean effective protection was 80%, with the possibility of some local and systemic sideeffects. Results: 517 people were interviewed. However, 30 would not be vaccinated even if the vaccine was free. Most of the resultant interviewees (489) were female (58.2%), had completed high school (49.7%), were employed (71.2%), had private health insurance (52.7%) and did not have Zika (96.9%). The median individual maximum willingness to pay for this hypothetical Zika vaccine (one dose) was US$31.34 (BRL100.00). Conclusion: Such discussions can contribute to decision-making about prices once a Zika vaccine becomes available in Brazil alongside other ongoing programmes to control the virus.

The lack of economic sustainability of most healthcare systems and a higher demand for quality and safety has contributed to the development of regulation as a decisive factor for modernisation, innovation and competitiveness in the health sector. The aim of this paper is to determine the importance of the principle of public accountability in healthcare regulation, stressing the fact that sunshine regulation—as a direct and transparent control over health activities—is vital for an effective regulatory activity, for an appropriate supervision of the different agents, to avoid quality shading problems and for healthy competition in this sector. Methodologically, the authors depart from Kieran Walshe’s regulatory theory that foresees healthcare regulation as an instrument of performance improvement and they articulate this theory with the different regulatory strategies. The authors conclude that sunshine regulation takes on a special relevance as, by promoting publicity of the performance indicators, it contributes directly and indirectly to an overall improvement of the healthcare services, namely in countries were citizens are more critical with regard to the overall performance of the system. Indeed, sunshine regulation contributes to the achievement of high levels of transparency, which are fundamental to overcoming some of the market failures that are inevitable in the transformation of a vertical and integrated public system into a decentralised network where entrepreneurialism appears to be the predominant culture.

Resumo A satisfação dos usuários é um importante critério para avaliar a qualidade dos Centros de Atenção Psicossocial (CAPS). O objetivo foi avaliar a satisfação de usuários dos principais CAPS de uma região de Minas Gerais e seus fatores associados. Foi realizado um estudo transversal em 11 CAPS, os usuários foram entrevistados para aplicação da Escala de Avaliação da Satisfação dos Usuários com os Serviços de Saúde Mental e um formulário semi-estruturado com variáveis sociodemográficas e clínicas. Os usuários estavam satisfeitos com os CAPS, sobretudo quanto à competência dos profissionais, acolhida e ajuda recebida no serviço. Condições físicas e conforto do serviço obtiveram os menores escores na escala de avaliação de satisfação. Verificou-se que quase metade dos usuários não conhecia aspectos básicos de sua terapia medicamentosa, como o nome dos medicamentos em uso, e um terço relatou que já fez uso inadequado destes. Os usuários dos CAPS álcool e drogas ou de serviços de médio porte estavam mais satisfeitos que os dos CAPS saúde mental ou serviços com funcionamento 24h. Os usuários estão satisfeitos com o modelo de atenção praticado nos CAPS, embora detectada a necessidade de melhorias na estrutura física, mecanismos de participação e empoderamento dos usuários.