The experience of the Naval Hospital Marcílio Dias in the drug selection

15 years of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Commission

Abstract

Hospital activities are characterized by a strong dynamism as consequence of the emerging of technologies in
health, among them, new drugs. The choice of items that will make up the subset of essential drugs used at the hospital
should be based on criteria of efficiency and safety, followed by ease of use and cost. The selection process allows the
definition of a list of essential drugs, which should guide all other activities related to medicines: programming, purchase,
distribution, dispensing, prescription, use and monitoring. This process involves a preparation phase, with the creation
of a multidisciplinary group known as the Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) Committee, a stage of choosing the items
that will compose the list and a moment of dissemination and monitoring of the results achieved. The evidence-based
Medicine must be the foundation of all decisions. The Naval Hospital Marcílio Dias P&T committee´s (CFT/HNMD) has
been on a regular operation since 2004. During these 15 years, 58 meetings were held and 899 drugs were evaluated
(for incorporation or exclusion) of the three drug lists available at the institution: Hospital Pharmacy Service (55.7%),
Special Drugs Program (29.1%) and SisDiMe (15.2%). Most of the structure indicators, processes and results were met
by the CFT/HNMD, and their work was highlighted in several aspects facing the reality of the country. The study also
made it possible to identif y the main oppor tunities for improvement.