Analysis of drug prescriptions dispensed by a Pharmacy in a Basic Health Unit in Porto Alegre, Brazil

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate errors in prescriptions and percentage of drugs effectively collected, allowing a better understanding of how drugs contribute to the orientation of pharmaceutical assistance in the Basic Health Unit (BHU) Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA) Santa Cecília. Methods: This was a longitudinal, retrospective study of dispensed prescriptions in a BHU in Porto Alegre, Brazil, over a 1-month period including all prescriptions that had at least one dispensed item. Parameters to be analyzed: 1) origin of medical prescription; 2) unsatisfied demand; 3) use of commercial name; 4) dosage; 5) date; 6) patient’s identification data; 7) prescriber’s identi-fication data;8) prescription’s legibility. Results: A total of 3,701 drug prescriptions were evaluated. As to origin, 24.2% (894) of prescrip-tions came from HCPA; 49.3% (1,824) from UBS HCPA-Santa Cecília; 9.6% (357) from other health units; 9.1% (338) from health plans/private; 7.6% (280) from other hospitals; and 0.2% (seven) had no origin identification. With regard to all prescriptions, 10,189 drugs were prescribed, corresponding to an average of 2.75 (±1) drugs per prescription. Drugs dispensed by the pharmacy at UBS HCPA-Santa Cecília corresponded to 67.1% of that amount. Of the total drugs that were not dispensed, 74.7% belonged to the Municipal List of Drugs. Of 3,701 prescriptions analyzed, 18% showed some type of error. There were 3,519 somatic errors, considering that a single prescription had more than one error. Mean number of errors per prescription was 5.3 (±2). Conclusion: To reach positive results in therapeutics, it is necessary to have a permanent education on the importance of drug prescription for health professionals, avoiding prescription errors and, in many cases, unsatisfied demands.