Abstract
Assessment instruments can measure the effectiveness of health policy organizations. This research is a descriptive diagnostic study the Pharmaceutical Assistance structure in Maranhao State, Brazil. The methodology consisted of obtaining secondary data from institutions related to the Pharmaceutical Assistance in the State. Structure indicators were calculated using methodology adapted from the World Health Organization (WHO), and pharmacists perception about the structure of the Pharmaceutical Assistance was analysed through questionnaires. There are 3,003 pharmacists and 3,410 healthcare establishments registered in the Regional Pharmacy Council CRF-MA, particularly in the capital area. Two main problems were identified by pharmacists: the “ineffective management of the public health system” and the “amount of available medicine is insufficient to meet the rising demands of the population” (23.08%; 18 each). We concluded that the Pharmaceutical Assistance organization in Maranhao State is in a precarious situation that requires an investment of resources to improve the physical structures, expand the amount and improve the qualifications of human resources, and procure medicines in sufficient quantities to meet the population’s needs.
Highlights
Maranhão is one of the poorest states in the Brazilian federation, with the lowest rent per capita in the country (IMESC, 2010)
In Brazil, health care became a right of all citizens conferred by the 1988 Constitution, through the National Health Act, which implemented the basis of the Unified Health System – known as the SUS (Brasil, 1990; Brasil, 1988)
This study suggests that it is currently not able to provide a quality service to the population, hindering access to medicines and inadequately promoting the rational use of medicines
Summary
Maranhão is one of the poorest states in the Brazilian federation, with the lowest rent per capita in the country (IMESC, 2010). The reality of many Brazilian municipalities is characterized by low-quality health services and a lack of resources that causes further difficulties with managing and structuring primary health care (Coriolano et al, 2010; Arretche, Marques, 2002). The same low-quality of services is observed for the Pharmaceutical Assistance, defined by the National Board of Health as “a set of actions for the promotion, protection. Pharmaceutical Assistance management of primary care is in considered the “ability to formulate, articulate and create conditions for the implementation and sustainability of Basic Pharmaceutical Assistance in a decentralized and shared manner at the municipal level”, as proposed by Barreto and Guimarães (2010). Inefficiency in the management process can be observed in the structures available to the most diverse areas of the country, including the health and Pharmaceutical
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