[Drug prescription and dispensing from the patient's perspective: a community-based study in Fortaleza, Ceará State, Brazil].
The objective of this study was to analyze aspects of the physician-patient and pharmacist-patient relationship, based on patients' opinions. It consists of community-based research performed in Fortaleza, Ceará State, Brazil, where 957 persons were interviewed; 904 answered questions about the last visit to the physician and 831 about the last visit to the pharmacy. The data reflect several aspects of medical and pharmaceutical practice and patients' attitudes towards the questions posed and information provided to guide rational use of drugs. In the therapeutic choice, physicians failed to ask their patients about hypersensitivity to drugs (65%) and use of other medication (64.1%) and ignored recommendations concerning adverse drug reactions (73.3%) and drug interactions (58.2%). The situation was even worse in hospitals, where in most cases a pharmacist's assistant was responsible for dispensing to patients (57.1%). The study suggests poor quality in the medical and pharmaceutical roles and patient apathy towards proceedings involving the prescription and receipt of drugs in pharmacies, as well as in rational use.
Arrais
Paulo Sérgio Dourado
PS
Departamento de Farmácia, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Rua Nunes Valente 1427, Fortaleza, CE 60125-070, Brazil. parrais@ufc.br
Barreto
Maurício Lima
ML
Coelho
Helena Lutéscia Luna
HL
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001938:Brazil; D003142:Communication; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004349:Drug Packaging / Q000592:standards*; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010593:Pharmaceutical Services / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010595:Pharmacists / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D017149:Private Sector; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D017150:Public Sector; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires