Abstract

Background: The introduction of Herbal Medicines Prescriptions in Primary Health Care in Brazil was important to improve the herbal medicine access from PHC patients. However, the lack of knowledge about how to prescription them it is a problem in the Primary Health Care, because the Brazilian Herbal Medicine and Medicinal Plant professionals prescriber do not have a minimum academic background in medicinal plants and are not aware of their legal qualification to prescribe them, nor do they have minimum consultation tools to prescriber medicinal plants in a rational and safe manner for the patient, so that these professionals prefer to choose allopathic medicines. In this sense, we did a review about a legal qualification for each Brazilian medicinal plants and herbal medicine professional prescriber to understand how they may help the patients to have access to medicinal plants and herbal medicines in the Brazilian Primary Health Care. Objective: The aim of this study was to review of using herbal medicine according to Pharmacopoeia in the regulatory field.
Methodology: A literature review was conducted in databases as PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar and other regulatory affairs databases about updates in Brazilian Herbal Medicine and Medicinal Plant Professionals Prescriber.
Results and discussion: Studies show that there is a low adherence regarding the prescription of Medicinal Plants and Herbal Medicines in Primary Health Care, although there is a phytotherapeutic memento to assist in the prescription. These gaps may be related to the lack of knowledge and discouragement of health professionals due to the budget deficit of the Primary Health Care and the non-insertion of herbal medicine knowledge already in undergraduate courses. In addition, misleading popular knowledge and its transmission from generation to generation about PMFs may be causing irrational and unsafe indications.
Conclusion: Although the inclusion of MPBP in the practice of clinical phytotherapy was important, the health professional prescribers still unknown herbal medicine and medicinal plants practice, contributing.

Keywords

professional prescriber, regulatory affairs, primary health care, herbal medicine, medicinal plants