Author:

• Augusto Amorim Bastos - Bastos, A.A. - Salvador, Bahia - Instituto de Saúde Coletiva da UFBA - <augustobas@yahoo.com.br>

Thematic Area:

Não Categorizado

Abstract:

Drugs are the therapeutic technology in widest use in the medical practice, and pharmacies are the facilities were they are dispensed. The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze the functioning of health surveillance of pharmacies. Based on the framework of the labor process theory applied to the health area, a case study was conducted of the operation of health-related surveillance of pharmacies, taking into account two analytical categories: ‘agents’ and ‘activities’. Data were collected through observation, analysis of documents, and interviews. The program QSR N VIVO was used for data processing. Personnel of the surveillance service were found to have distinct educational backgrounds, limited experience with the surveillance of pharmacies, and insufficient technical training for the performance of the tasks they are assigned. Deficiencies were found in the management of the service, which has not incorporated planning and assessment strategies. Its operation is primarily focused on issuing pharmacy permits, and it prioritizes spontaneous demand, configuring a technological model of intervention based on health-related inspection. The findings revealed a need for updating and upgrading the service’s operation, including the adoption of suitable technologies to improve risk control, given that technological evolution provides increasingly more potent drugs, with an accompanying rise in risk levels.

Keywords: health surveillance; drugs; pharmacies; work on health

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