Assessment of pharmaceutical assistance to pregnant women under public health care in the town of Praia Grande, Brazil

The use of medication in primary health care has been continuously growing over recent decades in such a way that it has become relevant to assess pharmaceutical assistance provided to patients at this level of care.   There is a clear lack of studies that aim to assess prenatal pharmaceutical assistance. Ensuring access to medications means having the adequate product for a specific purpose, in the correct dosage, for the necessary length of time, with the required quality and information for rational usage. The objective of this article is to evaluate the pharmaceutical assistance offered under primary health care services in the town of Praia Grande, São Paulo state.  The analysis was restricted to the health of pregnant women. During 2006 the research involved secondary data analysis; documental analysis; interviews with key players; visits to health services and to the Pharmaceutical Supply Centre. The “golden standard” for the analysis of the quality of pharmaceutical assistance was based on the guidelines of the Brazilian Medications Policy, and on documents from the Pan-American Health Organization and the WHO regarding pharmaceutical management. Flaws were found in almost all the stages – the selection, planning, purchase, storage, distribution and dispensing – of pharmaceutical assistance.  Consequentially there is a lack of medications which are generally prescribed to pregnant women in 85% of the health units, hindering the patient's access to such medication. The results suggest that in order to improve primary health care, ensuring better access, equality and integrity, the evaluation of pharmaceutical assistance should be incorporated on a daily basis, in terms of the preparation, execution and assessment of the basic health policies implemented in Brazil. The fragmentation of Pharmaceutical Assistance has made it necessary to adopt a systemic focus on its organization, creating relations between all the involved sectors.