SITUATIONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PHARMACEUTICAL ASSISTANCE IN THE SCOPE OF PRIMARY HEALTH CARE IN RIO GRANDE DO NORTE.
Pharmaceutical Assistance; Public Policies; Primary Health Care.
The publication of the National Drug Policy in 1998, followed by the National Pharmaceutical Assistance Policy in 2004, organized Brazil’s Pharmaceutical Assistance. Both were driven by the health reform and the promulgation of the 1988 National Constitution. The Organic Health Law, which regulated the Constitution regarding health, guaranteed the right to comprehensive therapeutic care for all Brazilian citizens, including pharmaceutical care. These policies restructure the focus, shifting away from medicine’s acquisition and distribution culture to promote medication access, rational use, and qualified management. The Rio Grande do Norte government’s Department of Public Health created a Pharmaceutical Assistance Sub-coordination in 2021 to manage policy, a significant step forward despite the delay. Despite national Pharmaceutical Assistance, regulation is lacking in many Brazilian states and some cities do not have a minimally structured and official Municipal Pharmaceutical Assistance in its territories. Considering this issue, this research aims to make a diagnosis of Pharmaceutical Assistance situation in all 168 municipalities of Rio Grande do Norte State. This study employs an exploratory approach, combining qualitative and quantitative analysis of data collected through an electronic questionnaire—aligned with the National Pharmaceutical Assistance Policy’s strategic priorities—and through regional workshops with pharmacists and managers of pharmaceutical help in Primary Health Care in the municipalities of Rio Grande do Norte. Data analysis will diagnose the state’s pharmaceutical assistance organization and inform future State Pharmaceutical Assistance Policy within Primary Health Care. This document will be crucial in reforming the service and directly improving citizen health.