Analysis of essential drugs lists of a regional healthcare coordination center in Rio Grande do Sul

DOI: 10.15343/0104-7809.201842013960

Abstract

In Brazil municipalities are responsible for initiating the guarantee of access to essential medicines by selecting those that will be included in their lists. This study aimed to analyze how the Municipal Lists of Essential Medicines (MLEM) are prepared, as well as their comparison with the National List of Essential Medicines (RENAME) 2014, and what their similarities and differences are. The municipalities belong to the 11th Regional Healthcare Coordination Center of Rio Grande do Sul State. A questionnaire was applied to the Pharmaceutical Assistance managers to characterize the preparation of the lists that were compared between themselves and with RENAME 2014, later Cluster Analysis was used to determine similarities. A total of 23 municipalities and 22 lists were received for the analysis. The main criteria for elaboration were medical prescription, presence in RENAME and need of the population. RENAME was cited as the most widely used source of information. Ten drugs were present in all lists and the percentage of agreement with RENAME was 60.6%. These results point to the need for a balance between what is accomplished by the municipalities and what is recommended in selecting essential medications.