OBJECTIVE:
to assess whether the medication dispensing procedures for chronic viral hepatitis C treatment follow Ministry of Health guidelines and to estimate possible costs of inadequate procedures.
METHODS:
this was a descriptive cross-sectional study of 643 medical records of patients with chronic viral hepatitis C registered in 2010 with four São Paulo State Health Department (SES/SP) Exceptional Drug Dispensing System pharmacies.
RESULTS:
relevant discrepancies regarding medication dispensing procedures were detected. Based on the histopathology reports it was estimated that only 64.5% of assessed patients actually met the guideline criteria for treatment and therefore R$ 1,096,132.32 was spent in nonconformity with the guidelines.
CONCLUSION:
a more rigorous standardization of procedures for dispensing medication for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in SES/SP Public Health Services must be implemented.
C; Chronic Hepatitis C; Health Evaluation; Pharmaceutical Services; Descriptive Epidemiology