PHARMACEUTICAL PRESCRIPTION IN BRAZIL: ADVANCES, LIMITATIONS, AND PROFESSIONAL DISPUTES FROM A REGULATORY PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

This article sought to analyze the advances, limitations, and professional disputes surrounding pharmaceutical prescribing in Brazil, considering its regulatory frameworks, legal challenges, and impacts on clinical practice. An Integrative Literature Review was conducted following the PRISMA protocol. The search was performed in the SciELO, PubMed, LILACS (BVS), and Google Scholar databases, using descriptors in Portuguese and English. Full-text articles published between 2015 and 2025 addressing pharmaceutical prescribing, its regulation, clinical effects, and professional controversies were included. After screening 624 records, 27 studies met the eligibility criteria and formed the qualitative synthesis. The results show that pharmaceutical prescribing contributes to the rational use of medicines, improved therapeutic adherence, reduced adverse events, and strengthened clinical care in community pharmacies. However, significant barriers persist, including insufficient clinical training among professionals, structural gaps in services, low patient adherence to follow-up, and corporate disputes that influence regulatory policies. The judicial suspension of CFF Resolution nº 586/2013 exposed normative vulnerabilities and highlighted the need for stringent certification criteria, such as the Special Qualification Registry (RQE). It is concluded that the advancement of pharmaceutical prescribing requires robust regulatory governance, certified technical competence, and effective multiprofessional integration to ensure patient safety and high-quality clinical care.