CHALLENGES IN PHARMACEUTICAL PRACTICE IN BRAZIL AMBASSADOR: GIOVANNA SOUSA SILVA AND LAURA TREVISAN FECHNER FEBRAF, BRAZIL
According to the Federal Council of Pharmacy, responsible for regulating Pharmacist profession and advocating for its valorization and following Brazilian Law, 72 areas are described as Pharmacist attributions including Clinical Pharmacy, Public Health, Hospital Administration, Molecular Biology, Clinical Biochemistry, Community Pharmacy, Pharmacoepidemiology, Industrial Pharmacy, among others(1). In 2020, around 234 300 Pharmacists were registered in regional class councils subordinated to the Federal Council(2). The Pharmaceutical profession evolved alongside society which led Pharmacists to assume a technicist role. However, there have been a rescuing of the role of the Pharmacist as a Health professional, including the adherence to the current legislation and, the growing practice of Pharmaceutical prescription, the insertion of Pharmacists in multidisciplinary teams aiming to provide care, security and proper orientation of patients in a daily basis. This has shown the complexity of the role of Pharmacists in the Brazilian Health Care System, Industry, Health Surveillance and society(3). Health Care Systems around the world are facing challenges concerning budget constraints, the high prevalence of chronic non-communicable diseases, and the increase in problems related to pharmacotherapy that lead to morbidity and mortality related to medicines. Such challenges affected the Pharmaceutical profession as well. According to World Health Organisation, Pharmacists should be more involved in solving problems starting from a product-centred approach to care, carrying out activities aimed at promoting rational use of medicines and other health technologies, having its practice redefined based on the needs of people, family, caregivers, and community, e.g. pharmacotherapeutic follow-up, health education, health screening, medication reconciliation and pharmacotherapy review(4). According to Martins-de-Freitas et al. (2016), the main difficulties Pharmacists face are lack of professional recognition considering low wages and little recognition by society, non-acceptance by the team in which the Pharmacists perform their activities, high range of attributions or activities, and technicist and mechanised view of the profession missing a humanised and holistic approach. Nonetheless, the Pharmaceutical professional in the Brazilian context plays a vital role in Drug Therapy Management, contributing to the patient's health condition improvement. That said, Pharmacists are a gateway to the health system due to the easy access citizens have to pharmacies both in terms of free counselling and by geographic distribution(4). Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS), universal access to health as an expression of citizenship. I.e.,2021 The role of a Pharmacist is to ensure the essential medicines aimed at tackling priority diseases such as non-communicable diseases are accessible and to ensure their quality, efficacy and safety, as well as promoting the rational use of medicines in order to reintegrate Pharmaceutical Care into SUS(5).
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