HOSPITAL PHARMACY MANAGEMENT AND QUALIFIED DISCHARGE: HUMANIZATION PERSPECTIVES IN BRAZIL’S SUS

Abstract

This study examines the role of hospital pharmacy management in ensuring continuity of patient care after qualified discharge, in accordance with Brazil's National Humanization Policy for the Unified Health System (SUS). Through a literature review, policies, regulations, and practices supporting pharmacist-led home follow-up were investigated, aiming to promote rational medication use and reduce adverse reaction risks. The findings show that the pharmacist’s role should not be limited to hospitalization, but must include post-discharge counseling and monitoring to ensure therapeutic adherence and patient safety. Humanization, understood as valuing the individual and fostering shared responsibility between professionals and users, proved fundamental for treatment continuity and for the effectiveness of public health actions. The integration of the multidisciplinary team, hospital management, and primary health care is decisive for full patient recovery and for consolidating humanized practices within the SUS. The study also highlights the need to consider aspects of social suffering during care transitions, broadening the humanized perspective and strengthening integrated health and social-care strategies.