Former Health Secretary of Mata Roma is convicted of SUS data fraud

Headquarters of the Federal Court in Maranhão. Disclosure/TRF1 The Federal Court convicted the former municipal secretary of Health of Mata Roma, in Maranhão, for administrative improbity due to his participation in fraud in the Unified Health System (SUS) care records. ? Click here and subscribe to the g1 Maranhão channel on WhatsApp According to the Federal Public Ministry (MPF), the municipality reported carrying out thousands of rehabilitation procedures on patients with Covid-19 sequelae. The irregular records would have caused Mata Roma to unduly receive federal resources intended for this type of treatment. The name of the former secretary and the punishments applied by the courts were not disclosed in the published material. Investigation began in 2022 The conviction responded to a request from the MPF, which began investigating the case in 2022. The findings were based on audits by the Ministry of Health and reports from the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU). The documents pointed to evidence of manipulation in the records of rehabilitation care for patients with Covid-19 sequelae. The audits also identified an unusual concentration of resources in Maranhão. Of the approximately R$21 million transferred by the federal government to municipalities across the country, approximately R$19.7 million was allocated to cities in Maranhão. The value represents 93.3% of the total. Number of patients drew attention During the investigation, the MPF found that Mata Roma registered in the SUS Ambulatory Information System (SIA/SUS) the care of 695 patients between January and April 2022. The number was greater than the total number of residents of the municipality who had contracted Covid-19 in the same period, according to the investigations. In March 2022 alone, the city hall informed the system that 16,020 procedures had been carried out. According to CGU calculations, to meet this volume, each physiotherapist would have to treat around 267 patients per day. Each session would last, on average, just five minutes. Documents did not prove services The inspection also found differences between the information entered into the system and the documents presented by the municipality. Only 117 records were found, proving 465 procedures. However, the SIA/SUS indicated that 34,280 services would be provided throughout 2022. According to the CGU, the documentation presented was not sufficient to prove the procedures informed to the SUS. The MPF also heard patients who appeared in the records. Some said they never received treatment for the after-effects of Covid-19. They stated that the physiotherapy sessions received were intended to treat other health problems, such as back pain and herniated discs. The investigation also identified the name of a patient who died in January 2022, but continued to appear in the system as a beneficiary of care until April of that year. Physiotherapists who worked in the municipality also gave testimony. They said they had seen few patients with Covid-19 sequelae. Some stated that they had never performed this type of procedure. Files were sent by the former secretary An investigation opened by the City of Mata Roma concluded that the electronic files with the records were sent by email by the Municipal Health Department to the server responsible for processing the SIA/SUS. According to the investigation, the server only imported the files into the system, without modifying the information. The municipal investigation showed that the data was sent by the then Secretary of Health. The Federal Court considered this fact one of the main proofs of the former manager's direct participation in the irregularities.