Washington DC, 21 April 2021 (PAHO) -The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) shared with the countries of the Region a model proposal for the development of national work plans to transform pharmaceutical services towards primary health care (PHC).
The document provides guidance for the development of the main content sections of the plan and the priority aspects to be adopted or adapted to the context of the country. Among the lines contemplated in the plan is the strengthening of the enforcement procedures of prescription sale of antimicrobials. The proposal was considered timely by all national working groups.
In addition, the PAHO/WHO Secretariat has advanced in the development of a proposal for the classification of pharmaceutical services according to their degree of complexity. This document will be useful to focus the application of the list of indicators that is being developed with a group of experts, since 2019, as part of the qualification system to be implemented in the pharmaceutical services of the Region.
These initiatives are part of the activities promoted by PAHO to support the development of comprehensive pharmaceutical services of excellence and articulated with health systems based on PHC, seeking quality access and rational use of medicines and other essential health supplies. Pharmaceutical services based on PHC promote a change in the focus of attention of pharmaceutical policies and the work of the pharmaceutical professional that is currently focused on the medicine, to prioritize the patient and their needs, thus acquiring a greater commitment to the results of Health.
This line of work is part of the project "Working together to fight antimicrobial resistance", which is developed with the support of the European Union, in conjunction with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
