Since July 1, the mandatory use of electronic prescriptions has been implemented throughout the country by Decree 345/2024. Notwithstanding this, an extension of 180 days has been made to the deadline for this method of prescribing medicines to coexist with the more traditional paper method, which is enough time to adapt systems and practices to this new modality.
The truth is that the legal aspects and validity of using digital prescriptions, paper photos or electronic ones, began to be debated during the pandemic, when the possibility was made that, for a certain period, prescriptions could be in a format other than paper.
For all these reasons, we decided to differentiate the different formats of medical prescriptions and their implications, especially their legal aspects.
Photo is not electronic
To begin with, the electronic method must be distinguished from the photo of a paper prescription sent by electronic means (e.g. WhatsApp), which is not valid today. This way of using prescriptions was a (necessary) “patch” during the pandemic, but once the emergency situation was over, it was left aside due to the large number of inconveniences it presented, such as its multiple use or the classic errors in preparation or illegibility.
In fact, a photo of a prescription is no longer valid for use in a pharmacy, and paper documentation is only valid for dispensing the medication delivered in the original at the pharmacy.
In the case of the electronic modality, what is sent by WhatsApp, email or other electronic or digital means is a representation, since strictly the electronic prescription is the information stored in the different repositories that are accessed from the pharmacy with the data of the representation that is presented at the time of dispensing.
In short, a prescription that is sent electronically is valid if it is a copy of the electronic prescription, but it is not valid if it is a photo of a paper prescription.
Returning to the prescription by electronic means, there is no difference from the legal aspect with the one that is signed on paper until Decree 345/2024 comes into full force, since through this presidential decree it was established that it would be mandatory to prescribe exclusively by electronic means, except for justified exceptions.
Adaptation time
However, as we mentioned previously, the National Directorate of Health Information Systems of the Ministry of Health of the Nation issued Provision 1/2024, which in its article 5 granted an exceptional period of 180 days from the date of its issuance (06-26-2024) to professionals and health service providers for the incorporation and/or adaptation of technologies that allow them to electronically prescribe medications, study orders, practices and/or any other indication.
On the other hand, it is necessary to differentiate between electronic and digital prescriptions. While the former is “self-managed” like a handwritten signature, the latter has an entity outside the document that validates it, such as a token. In fact, there is a standard for digital signatures (25.506) that regulates these two types of signatures.
Therefore, an electronic prescription, which meets all the requirements demanded by law, is a 100% valid document and must be accepted for the dispensing of the medication by the pharmacy.
The platforms for issuing these documents must be registered in the National Registry of Digital Health Platforms (ReNaPDiS) and the medication prescriptions must comply with the minimum requirements established by Law 27,553 and its regulations.
This means that each prescription must contain the name, registration number, profession, specialty and address of the doctor; the identification of the patient containing his/her date of birth, ID, sex and social security or prepaid insurance (if applicable); the data of the medication identified by its generic name or international common name, indicating presentation, pharmaceutical form and quantity of units, and may also contain the commercial name of the medication; the diagnosis, the date of issue and the signature (electronic or digital) of the professional.
In addition, each prescription must have its own CUIR (Unique Prescription Identification Code) represented in a barcode.
Legal advantages
Finally, from a legal point of view, the electronic prescription has some advantages over the paper one. It can be stored by all the actors who interact with it throughout its life (doctor, patient, financier, pharmacy, etc.), so it has a documentary capacity that its paper counterpart does not have.
This difference becomes very important in the event of a dispute or conflict, as it provides additional information that can be supplemented with the patient’s medical history.
In addition, some platforms require that the patient and the doctor be linked at the time of document generation. In this way, with double verification, spurious documents cannot be created and the possibility of generating prescriptions with errors in coverage or patient data is minimized since these are shared from the patient’s platform, who will always have their coverage information updated.
As you can see, digital transformation is also reaching the health sector. And although we are still in the period of adaptation to the new scheme, within a few months medical prescriptions will only be able to be electronic, which will also be a considerable advance from a legal point of view.
Lawyer and co-founder of the plataforma www.dctor.com.ar.
Source: Ambito
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