The director of Pharmaceutical Assistance in Brazil’s Ministry of Health, Dirceu Barbario, declared, this Friday, March 24, that the goal of creating 500 community pharmacies in Brazil by the end of the year will be met.
In an interview with Radio Nacional AM, the director informed that, altogether, 120 pharmacies are already in operation throughout the country, and another 300 are being installed.
According to Barbario, since the program began, in June, 2004, around 15 million units of medicine have been made available to over 2 million customers.
"The community pharmacies constitute a very positive experience. The Fiocruz [Oswaldo Cruz Foundation] buys the medicines through a bidding process, and the medicines are sold to people at cost," he explained.
Barbario highlighted the level of popular approval of the program. According to him, 97% of the users approve the program, and 90% consider the service to be excellent.
"The community pharmacy brought society a new type of establishment where the focus is on people’s health rather than the commercial transaction," the director observed.
Agência Brasil