Evaluation of medication dispensation to patients with chronic hepatitis C in São Paulo State Health Department specialized unit pharmacies, Brazil, in 2010

OBJECTIVE:

to assess whether the medication dispensing procedures for chronic viral hepatitis C treatment follow Ministry of Health guidelines and to estimate possible costs of inadequate procedures.

METHODS:

this was a descriptive cross-sectional study of 643 medical records of patients with chronic viral hepatitis C registered in 2010 with four São Paulo State Health Department (SES/SP) Exceptional Drug Dispensing System pharmacies.

RESULTS:

relevant discrepancies regarding medication dispensing procedures were detected. Based on the histopathology reports it was estimated that only 64.5% of assessed patients actually met the guideline criteria for treatment and therefore R$ 1,096,132.32 was spent in nonconformity with the guidelines.

CONCLUSION:

a more rigorous standardization of procedures for dispensing medication for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in SES/SP Public Health Services must be implemented.

C; Chronic Hepatitis C; Health Evaluation; Pharmaceutical Services; Descriptive Epidemiology