The clinical pharmacist's role in a high-cost medicine pharmacy: Patient-centered care

Abstract In Brazil, medicine dispensing is a pharmacy service provided within the national health system that allows the pharmacist to interact directly with the patient in order to prevent, detect and solve problems related to pharmacotherapy and health needs. However, it is known that most dispensing services provided in the country are still limited to supplying medications and, at their finest, offering advice on medication utilization. Attempts to change this scenario present new challenges the area of pharmacy, which involve the need for a patient-centered pharmaceutical service model. This paper describes the patient-centered pharmaceutical service of high-cost medicine dispensing performed at a pharmacy linked to the Brazilian Unified Health System. In the model described here, the medicine-dispensing activity is the pharmacist's main field of practice, which consists of identifying patient needs related to health care itself and medication utilization. It also aims to introduce the instrument developed (a Pharmaceutical Care Protocol) that contributed to implementing this clinical service provided by the pharmacist. The protocols guide and qualify the service by providing information that helps in evaluating the effectiveness and safety of treatments and in the preparation of the care plan and can be used as a basis for other services that intend to adopt clinical pharmacy practices.

Atenção farmacêutica no contexto da estratégia de saúde da família / Pharmaceutical care in the context of the family health strategy

A assistência farmacêutica, no âmbito do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), é muitas vezes realizada com o objetivo primordial de garantir o abastecimento dos medicamentos nas Unidades Locais de Saúde. Freqüentemente, os cuidados com os pacientes e a promoção do uso racional dos medicamentos são marginalizados. Contudo, durante o desenvolvimento do seguimento farmacoterapêutico, são identificados problemas relacionados aos medicamentos (PRM) e dificuldades na adesão ao tratamento farmacológico, os quais estão relacionados a questões familiares e sociais, e têm contribuído para o não-sucesso terapêutico, portanto pontos-chave a serem considerados durante a Atenção Farmacêutica. Foi realizado o seguimento farmacoterapêutico de quatro pacientes atendidos em uma unidade de saúde do município de Florianópolis. Para a resolução dos PRMs, adotou-se abordagem que inclui os contextos familiar e social e, que utiliza ferramentas como o genograma e o ecomapa, além do trabalho interdisciplinar. Observou-se a importância da família e dos grupos de apoio para a resolução dos PRMs e a necessidade do farmacêutico de aprimorar a prática de atenção farmacêutica mediante a utilização de tais ferramentas. Percebeu-se, ainda, a importância das visitas domiciliares para conhecer melhor o ambiente familiar e a necessidade de trabalho interdisciplinar para melhorar a qualidade do atendimento.

The main objective of pharmaceutical policy management within the scope of SUS (Brazilian National Health System) is to guarantee the supply of drugs to local health centers, therefore displacing patient care When drug-related problems (DRP) and difficulties in adhering to the prescribed treatment are identified during the development of pharmaceutical follow-up, family and social issues have been shown to be reasons for unsuccessful treatment. They are key points to be considered during Pharmaceutical Care. The methodology chosen for this study was the pharmaceutical care of four patients monitored in a Health Unit in the city of Florianópolis. To solve drug related problems an approach was adopted that included family and social contexts using tools such as genogramming, ecomapping and interdisciplinary work. Family and support groups were shown to be important in addressing DRPs and there appears to be a need for the pharmacist to improve Pharmaceutical Care Practice by using these tools. The importance of home visits to gain a better understanding of the family environment was also observed, as well as the necessity of interdisciplinary work to improve the quality of care.