Primary Pharmaceutical Assistance in a Regional Inter-Agency Committee on Health: Evaluation and Shared Action for Organization

Determining how primary pharmaceutical assistance is structured allows us to establish situational diagnoses and to visualize possible implications for an essential part of the Brazilian Unified Health System. Methods: We evaluated pharmaceutical services of all municipalities that compose the Regional Inter-Agency Committee on Health of Ourinhos-São Paulo (CIR-Ourinhos-SP) through structure, process, and outcome indicators, and, in a shared way, we proposed actions to qualify the practice. We conducted direct observations of drugs, records, documents, interviews with pharmacists, and visits to health care centers, totaling 12 municipalities, 41 health care centers, and 3 pharmaceutical supply services. Results: In the thematic workshop carried out with municipal representatives, we found that 68.33% of health care centers and 70% of pharmaceutical supply services met good storage practices. We verified an average of 0.85 pharmacists per unit and the presence of 88.91% of marker drugs. Workshop proposals were sent to managers and pharmacists responsible for pharmaceutical assistance of 12 municipalities. Conclusions: Most indicators were below the established standards, demonstrating the need for adjustments in the infrastructure and provision of training for professionals.