Image: APA/BARBARA GINDL
The Health Committee of the National Council decided unanimously on Tuesday evening. In addition, the free choice of pharmacies is ensured. In concrete terms, the Pharmacy Act is intended to establish a ban on the allocation of prescriptions for medicines and the free choice of pharmacies to be explicitly anchored in law, the parliamentary correspondence reported.
According to the Ministry of Health, since the introduction of the e-prescription, it has been shown in practice that agreements on the allocation of prescriptions have been made or that medical prescriptions are sent directly to certain pharmacies for economic reasons. According to the explanations, the general ban with certain exceptions is intended to do justice to the rapid technical development and to record any future models. Violation of the new provisions is said to constitute an administrative offence.
The amendment to the Medicines Act is intended to enable public pharmacies to set up pick-up lockers or pick-up stations for depositing non-prescription medicines for customers. The pick-up stations must be directly connected to the respective pharmacy and, as part of the pharmacy’s operating system, are subject to the corresponding approval and inspection requirements.
Source: Nachrichten
