Medicine prescription and test request by nurse in FHP: ethics and legal aspects

Abstract

The Family Health Program (FHP), is a proposal that aims to guide and organize the public system, assuring the construction of an assistance model that gives priority to all citizens. The nurse, as a member in this program plays an important role, developing actions that are common to the role team as well as, some other specifics actions such as nurse consultation, request of complementary tests and medicine prescription. Concerning to medicine prescription and request of tests there have been many questions involving the legal validity of those procedures. In this sense, this is a documental study that aims to point out the ethics and legal parameters that supports the practice of nurses in the FHP, concerning to medicine prescription and request of tests.  It can be pointed out that his study was based upon the law of professional practice 7.498/86; the decree 94.406/87; the Ethic Code of Nurse Professional; resolution of COFEN 311/07 and the resolution of COFEN 271/02. According to the findings of this study, it was observed that the consolidation of the practices performed by nurses in the FHP, are of fundamental importance in the process of legitimation and professional identity of nurse.