The scope of this study was to discuss the organization of the pharmaceutical assistance service in the family healthcare program. Qualitative research from a critical/analytical perspective was conducted in family healthcare units in a municipality of the state of Bahia, Brazil. Data was collected on the basis of systematic observation, semi-structured interviews and documents analysis from a dialectic standpoint. The organization of Pharmaceutical Assistance consisted of selection, planning, acquisition, storage and dispensing activities. The process was studied in the implementation phase, which was occurring in a centralized and uncoordinated fashion, without the proposed team work. An excess of activity was observed among the healthcare workers and there was an absence of a continued education policy for the workers. For the transformation of this situation and to ensure the organization of pharmaceutical assistance with quality and in an integrated manner, a reworking of the manner of thinking and action of the players concerned (managers, health workers and users), who participate directly in the organization, is necessary. Furthermore, mechanical, bureaucratic and impersonal work practices need to be abandoned.
Pharmaceutical assistance; Organization; Family Health Program