Quality indicators of pharmacists' services in community pharmacies in Paraná State, Brazil

Abstract

Pharmacists and their pharmacies have been evolving in their roles as health promoters in Brazil. Some examples are the recent legislation reaffirming the role of Brazilian pharmacies as health institutions, rather than having only a commercial profile, giving greater clarity to pharmacists about their roles as health care providers. This evolution came with the recognition that is already seen in other developed countries, confirming the need for the pharmacist as a health promoter, and not simply a dispenser of drugs in society. This study has obtained the profile and activities of community pharmacists, as well as the quality indicators of private community pharmacies throughout the State of Paraná through the application of an online survey sent to pharmacists in the state. Out of all pharmacists surveyed, 533 were part of the final analysis, being the pharmacists to complete the survey in full. Participants were mostly female (69.4%) and were, on average, 35.2 ± 9.2 years old. Of these, 60% worked in pharmacy chains and just 37% of all pharmacist respondents were issuing the Declaration of Pharmaceutical Services. The current study showed that many pharmaceutical services are not adopted by pharmacies as these services bring no significant financial reward. Regarding the structure, the Paraná State showed that pharmacies present a good overall structure. The kind of pharmacy (chain or independent) influenced the pharmaceutical services provided and the available structure, where the independent pharmacies provide a wider range of services and have better structure. This study was able to identify the profile and behaviors of pharmacists and also the quality indicators of pharmacies in Paraná State.Uniterms: Pharmaceutical care. Pharmacists/professional practice. Community pharmacy/structure indicators/Paraná State, Brazil. INTRODUCTIONThe pharmaceutical profession has undergone important changes in the last few decades in Brazil, especially in relation to community pharmacies, with changing roles and a focus on providing clinical services to patients.The pharmacy, as commercial establishment, has evolved significantly (França Filho et al., 2008;Silva, Vieira, 2004), with regulatory advancements such as the publication of law 13.021/14, which inverts the profit oriented logic, by defining the pharmacy as a health care entity geared toward providing a pharmaceutical service, and technical and clinical assistance, to promote the best health care for the patients Souza, 2012).The term service refers to a set of activities organized in a work process. In a broad definition, pharmaceutical services represent any particular service provided by pharmacists and they may be clinical or not. The pharmaceutical care includes a wide range of clinical services, ranging from the benchmarks to pharmacotherapeutic monitoring itself. Recently, in order to clarify definitions and guide professional activity, the which regulate the attributions of clinical pharmacists and of pharmaceutical prescription.The importance of phar...

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