Essential drug selection guides the efficacious, safe, and rational use of medicines. This article describes and discusses the process and results achieved in the work of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee of the Fernandes Figueira Institute in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the revision of its drug list, highlighting the implications for management, clinical practice, and medical and multidisciplinary team training. The data were retrieved from documents produced by the group from April 2005 to March 2008. Three drug groups were analyzed. The findings point to a decrease of at least 44% in the amount of items. The process involved a large number of staff members from different professions and departments in the hospital. Although long and complex, it is estimated that the revision of the drug list awakened the entire staff to the need for rethinking the use of the therapeutic armamentarium, contributing to training based on the scientific evidence paradigm and favoring adherence to the drugs on the final list.
Essential Medicines; Drug Utilization; Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee; Hospital