Global Insight Perspective | |
Significance | The Prime Minister has unveiled a radical transformation to the pharmacy sector, designed to improve patient access to medication. Meanwhile, Portugal's Ministerial cabinet has approved new unifying legislation on medicines for human use. |
Implications | Patients will be able to take advantage of lower medicine prices, as a result of the accord inked with Portugal's National Pharmacy Association (ANF), which agreed to the latest proposals. Cheaper prices for medicines are also likely as a result of the new decree's regulation on parallel trading. |
Outlook | Patient access to medication is most likely to improve with these latest measures and the new legislation in addition to measures recently implemented by the government. However, the new legislation will have a notable impact on the Portuguese drug regulatory body, Infarmed |
Pharmacy Sector Overhaul
Last Friday (26 May), Jose Socrates, the Prime Minister of Portugal, announced a raft of new radical measures for the pharmacy market with a view to enhancing patient access to medication. Speaking to the Portuguese Parliament, Assembleia da Republica, in his monthly speech, Socrates unveiled the following far-reaching transformations for the sector:
- Pharmacy ownership is to be liberalised and extended to non-pharmacists; pharmacies no longer need to be owned exclusively by pharmacy graduates. However, ownership will be governed by stricter rules so as to avoid any conflicts of interest, preventing - for example - the ownership of pharmacies by drug wholesalers and manufacturers.
- The national network of pharmacies is to be increased; 300 new pharmacies will be set up. Adding to the network will be pharmacies within public hospitals, which will open 24 hours a day and 365 days a year;
- Opening hours will be extended with an expansion of services offered by pharmacies. Opening hours will increase to 55 hours a week, instead of the current 44 in order suit patients’ needs. Pharmacies will be allowed to sell certain medicines via the internet and also offer home delivery services, particularly to elderly patients.
- A reduction of unnecessary costs incurred by patients with medication, whereby - most notably - the rule preventing pharmacies from reducing medicine prices has been revoked. Regulation for prescription by international non-proprietary names (INN) will be generalised, while pharmacies will be allowed to sell medicines in unit doses.
New Legislation
In the meantime, the Ministerial Cabinet has approved a new decree, entitled 'Estatuto do Medicamento', which unifies legislation on medicines for human use. The decree will only become effective after publication in the governmental gazette Diario da Republica. Most notably, the decree sets out parallel trade regulations, whereby drug wholesalers are allowed to import medicines at a lower cost from other countries, as well as reinforcing the ‘quality, efficacy and safety’ of medicines. However, the decree has left out certain aspects relating to medicines, particularly regarding state reimbursement and pharmacy activities, according to Vasco Maria, the head of the Portuguese drug-regulatory body, Infarmed.
Outlook and Implications
This latest package adds to previously implemented measures designed to improve patients’ access to medicines, including a 6% overall price reduction of retail medicines as well as the recently inked protocol with the pharmaceutical industry, which aims to curtail the public health service (SNS) expenditure on medicines. The reduction of unnecessary medication costs will be achieved through the accord established with the National Pharmacy Association (ANF). However, the ANF still maintains that pharmacy ownership should remain exclusive to pharmacists, in accordance with the practice in the majority of other European countries. Nonetheless, the Association agreed to the latest governmental proposals, which are seen to demonstrate that pharmacies are still an important and responsible player within the Portuguese healthcare sector. Meanwhile, the decree will force changes within Infarmed itself in terms of procedures and organisational structure.