PHARMACIST’S WORK PROCESS IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE: A CRITICAL REVIEW

Abstract

This study aimed to know, grasp and analyse the pharmacist’s work process in the domain of pharmaceutical services in Primary Health Care (PHC), using a critical review of studies conducted in Brazil. The sample consisted of 3 articles and 9 dissertations, whose search resorted to the descriptor ‘pharmaceutical services,’ considering publications until December 2016. Pharmacist’s work process in PHC grew after the Brazilian National Pharmaceutical Services Policy [Política Nacional de Assistência Farmacêutica (PNAF)] was deployed in 2004. Despite this advance, the pharmacist’s absence has been shown. Moreover, drug dispensing was sometimes delegated to non‑pharmaceutical practitioners. The pharmacist’s work overload may be one of the barriers hindering her/his work process from encompassing more technical care activities. Efforts should be made to systematically deploy continuing education for this professional, including her/him in the field of collective health and clinical pharmacy, thus enabling pharmaceutical care to meet the population’s health needs and fill in the gaps in clinical activities.