INTRODUCTION: The "Sistema Único de Saúde" (Unified National Health System - SUS) ensures access to medication through the guarantee of integral pharmaceutical care. The World Health Organization (WHO) developed Indicators on the Utilization of Drugs with the intention of describing and evaluating aspects that affect pharmaceutical practices in health centers. OBJECTIVES: To learn which are the most commonly prescribed therapeutic groups, according to Prescription Indicators in the Family Health Program of the municipal district of Campina Grande. METHODS: The study was based on the Prescription Indicators proposed by the WHO. Drugs were classified according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification (ATC) and data were analyzed using EpiInfo 2000 and Excel programs. RESULTS: An average of 1.5 drugs were prescribed per prescription. The percentage of antibiotics prescribed was 21.1%. Medication was prescribed by its generic name in 84.2% of prescriptions and only 1.1% was parenteral. 91.9% of the medications prescribed were part of the list of standard drugs. The most frequently prescribed pharmacologic group was antibiotics (21.0%), followed by anti-parasites (18.4%), analgesics and anti-thermals (15.4%), and drugs for the digestive (9.5%) and respiratory (9.2%) systems. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to know the community's main demands, so that policy-makers can plan and carry out appropriate activities to meet the needs of the population. Indicators presented good indexes, possibly as a consequence of the National Drug Policy and the accomplishment of the Municipal Conference on Medication and Pharmaceutical Care.
Medicines; Pharmaceutical Care; Prescription Indicators; Basic Care; Health Services
