OBJECTIVE:

to describe the pharmacotherapeutic profile of users of the Specialized Program for Pharmaceutical Assistance, and to measure the expenditure on the most prevalent and the most expensive medications.

METHODS:

descriptive study conducted in São Leopoldo-RS, Brazil, with secondary data regarding information about requests accepted in 2014, through administrative proceedings; delivery notes of the State Health Department/RS were used to assess the costs.

RESULTS:

1,528 users were included in the study, mostly women (56.7%), and the average age was 52 years (standard deviation=17.9); the most frequent diagnoses were allergic asthma (17.1%), chronic kidney disease (11.5%) and rheumatoid arthritis (8.4%); the most prevalent drug was budesonide+formoterol fumarate (18.3%); among the most prevalent drugs, the highest total monthly expense was with epoetin alfa (BRL37,922.34) and among the most expensive drugs, infliximab (BRL72,503.28).

CONCLUSION:

the data show the importance of the Specialized Program for Pharmaceutical Assistance in the high-cost treatment of highly prevalent.

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