Strategies to improve the availability of medicines in primary health care in Brazil: findings and implications.

Aim: Access to essential medicines is a key component of managing patients in ambulatory care. In 2008, the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, created the Pharmacy Network of Minas (Rede Farmácia de Minas [RFM]) program to improve access to medicines, increasing availability and restructuring the infrastructures. The aim was to assess the current situation, comparing municipalities with and without RFM. Materials & methods: Descriptive survey study, data collected from 2014 July to May 2015. Availability was verified by stock levels. Results: The drug availability index was 61.0%, higher in municipalities with RFM. Most physicians considered the pharmaceutical services as good/very good. The main reasons for medicines shortage were 'financial transference problems', 'insufficient financial resources' and 'budget'. Conclusion: Strategies, such as the RFM can promote improvements in medicine availability.

Indicator of access to medicines in relation to the multiple dimensions of access.

Aim: Creation of a single indicator of access to medicines. Methods: Data collection was performed with individuals who obtained their medication from either public and/or private pharmacies. A Likert scale was used to measure the importance and satisfaction in relation to various access dimensions. Results: A total of 580 individuals were interviewed. Overall, participants attributed very similar importance scores to the dimensions of access to medicines. The results of the mean score of each dimension showed a statistically significant difference according to the type of pharmacy that the participant visited. Conclusion: This developed indicator will enable a review of access to medicines, making comparisons possible as well as improving decision making about public policies in the field of Pharmaceutical Services.