Community pharmacies and pharmacists in Brazil: A missed opportunity

• Angelita C. MELO ^[1] ; Guilherme M. TRINDADE ; Alessandra R. FREITAS ; Karina A. RESENDE ; Tarcísio J. PALHANO .
  1. [1] Federal University of São João del-Rei
• Localización: Pharmacy Practice (Granada), ISSN-e 1886-3655, Vol. 19, Nº. 2, 2021
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
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• Resumen

  • The Brazilian National Health System (BR - NHS) is one of the largest public health systems in the world. In 2019 Brazil had 114,352 community pharmacies (76.8% private owned), that represent the first point of access to healthcare in Brazil du e to their wide distribution. Unfortunately, from the government's point of view, the main expected activity of private and public community pharmacies is related to dispensing medicines and other health products. Public community pharmacies can be part of a healthcare center or be in a separate location, sometimes without the presence of a pharmacist. Pharmacists working in these separated l ocations do not have access to patients’ medical records, and they have difficulty in accessing other members of the patient care team.

    Pharmacists working in public pharmacies located in healthcare centers may have access to patients’ medical records, but phar macy activities are frequently under other professional’s supervision (e.g., nurses). Private pharmacies are usu ally open 24/7 with the presence of a pharmacist for 8 hours on business days. Private community pharmacies have a very limited integration in the BR - NHS and p harmacists are the third largest healthcare workforce in Brazil with more than 221,000 registere d in the Br azilian F ederal Pharmacist Association [ CFF - Conselho Federal de Farmácia]. A University degree in pharmacy is the only requirement to entry into the profession, without any proficiency exam for maintenance or career progression. The Brazilian pharmaci st's annual income is ranked as the 2nd better - paid profession with an annual average income of € 5502.37 (in 2020). Description of clinical activities for pharmacies by the CFF increased in the recent years, however there is still a long way to effectivel y implement them into practice