How Recife improved residents’ access to medication using data

Six professionals gather in a storage room with shelves of cardboard boxes and water bottles, focused on a smartphone held by a man in a blue plaid shirt. The diverse group includes two women wearing glasses on the left in light-colored business attire, a man in glasses and white shirt in the center, and two additional team members on the right, all engaged in viewing content on the phone screen together.

Summary

Recife, the capital of Pernambuco in northeast Brazil, strengthened its data governance, workforce capacity, and evidence-based management through its participation in the City Data Alliance (CDA). In Brazil, the federal government supplies medications while cities manage distribution, which left many residents visiting multiple public pharmacies to find essential medicines. With new data foundations in place, Recife used its existing pharmacy system to capture real demand, align inventory across locations, and improve frontline workflows. By making availability visible and matching supply to need, the city reduced uncertainty for residents, increased transparency in the health system, and made access to essential medications more reliable.

 

Vision

For many Recife residents, especially those managing chronic conditions, securing essential medications often required visiting several pharmacies, creating avoidable delays and stress. These challenges were most acute for people with limited mobility or financial constraints. At the same time, pharmacy teams lacked accurate information on demand.

Mayor João Henrique Campos set a clear objective: ensure residents can reliably access the medications they need, wherever they live. This meant improving visibility into availability, aligning supply with real needs, and supporting the staff who manage daily pharmacy operations, strengthening their ability to plan inventory and serve residents in need.

 

Approach

Recife’s work built on institutional capabilities developed through the CDA, including a Data Governance Committee, a citywide data protocol, and a centralized management system linking policies, programs, and public services. With these foundations, the city focused on three priorities:

  1. Capturing demand where it occurs: Rather than introducing a new system, Recife adapted existing pharmacy software to capture data on medication demand and distribution. This allowed the city to understand which medications were requested, where shortages occurred, and how demand varied across locations.
  2. Aligning inventory with real needs: Using the new demand data, the city created inventory profiles for each pharmacy, tailored to the types and quantities of medications most needed by local residents. This shift moved the system away from uniform stocking requirements toward more responsive inventory planning.
  3. Strengthening frontline workflows: Implementation required coordination across more than 184 pharmacy pick-up points and training for pharmacy agents responsible for data entry and resident interaction. The Strategic Priorities Department worked closely with pharmacy leadership, surveying frontline staff and incorporating their feedback to refine workflows, improve data quality, and enhance customer service.

After several months of internal piloting, the city expanded access through the Conecta Recife app, allowing residents to search for medications, check availability at nearby pharmacies, view opening hours, and reserve supplies for scheduled pick‑ups.

 

Impact

Recife’s data‑informed approach delivered meaningful improvements for residents and pharmacy teams:

  • Faster access for residents: The Conecta Recife app now supports medication search and reservations, helping reduce multi‑pharmacy trips.
  • More reliable pharmacy service: Pharmacies experience fewer stockouts and smoother workflows, resulting in a more consistent supply of essential medications.
  • Greater equity for high‑frequency users: Insights into mobility, transportation, and time barriers informed a new process to deliver medications by motorcycle to residents who face the greatest challenges.
  • Stronger public health insights: Analysis of new demand data highlighted mental health medications as the highest-need category, informing broader planning.

Recife is continuing to strengthen this work by expanding digital tools and advancing efforts to ensure that medication access is reliable, predictable, and fair for all residents.

 

Lessons

Recife’s experience shows that data improves outcomes when it is actionable, integrated, and centered on real resident needs. Engaging frontline pharmacy teams ensured that new data practices fit actual workflows, and starting with existing systems made it possible to move quickly while building trust and capacity. Clear problem definition enabled Recife to focus on the barriers residents experience most directly, guiding practical improvements that were both feasible and meaningful. The work also illustrates that data‑informed management is iterative. By learning from use, adapting solutions, and exploring responsible applications of AI, Recife is strengthening its ability to deliver essential health services.