El gobierno aprueba ley que permite a enfermeras y fisioterapeutas prescribir medicamentos.
The Council of Ministers approved on Tuesday the bill on medicines and health products, allowing nurses and physiotherapists to prescribe medications, as well as pharmacists to substitute one prescribed medication for another.
«This reform has three fundamental objectives, such as modernizing the medication ecosystem and adapting it to the 21st century, as well as incorporating all the lessons the pandemic has taught us in terms of strategic autonomy and strategic reserves,» they also mention.
In this way, the government gave the green light to the reform of pharmaceutical legislation, aiming to adapt the system to current progress and promote the rational use of drugs. The Ministry of Health aims to have this law, which amends the current 2015 legislation, in the House of Deputies before the summer.
Therefore, the law includes changes to healthcare professionals who can prescribe medications. Until now, only doctors, podiatrists, and dentists could do so, but with this new law, nurses and physiotherapists will be able to prescribe certain medications within their competencies. Specifically, Royal Decree 954/2015 will be modified for the indication, use, and authorization of the dispensation of medications and health products for human use by nurses. Regulations affecting physiotherapists will also be developed in this regard.
Furthermore, in cases of medication shortages, pharmacists can replace the prescribed medication with another. Currently, when such a problem arises, the patient must return to the Health Center for the doctor to prescribe the same medication with a different available presentation. The project allows the pharmacy professional to dispense another medication, always from a list of substitutable medications.
In general, medication prescriptions are based on the active substance, with exceptions for medications in chronic processes. Initially, the pharmacist must provide the patient with the lowest-priced medication from the selected price group within the homogeneous group. Although the patient can choose a different brand of medication with the same active substance within the selected price range.
The patient can also select a medication that is not within the selected price range. In this case, the pharmacist must collect the price difference.
Another novelty of the law is the creation of the first category of prescribed medications. This allows patients with recurring or chronic treatments to have this medication at the pharmacy office without having to visit the doctor for a new prescription.
Changing the reference price system
The current reference price system is also being modified to establish a new model of selected prices. This model allows for a price bifurcation where medications will be financed by the National Health System, providing producers with a margin to differentiate and diversify the provision of equivalent medications for the public system.
Unlike the current system, which imposes a single price for all equivalent medications, the new approach allows companies to offer prices every six months. The ministry will select products that not only offer a competitive price but also guarantee supply.
«We are incorporating a reference price system because the current system prevents real competition between different innovative, generic, and biosimilar medications. We want competition to be more fluid, so we are implementing a more flexible system,» García said.
Strategic drugs
Regulations, economic measures, and various provisions promoting the sustainability of strategic drug markets will also be implemented. The Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMP) can take measures affecting the manufacturing, importation, distribution, and dispensation, as well as the economic and fiscal regime of these drugs. The government can also adopt extraordinary measures to ensure access to strategic medications in emergencies, such as a European health crisis.
«We are strengthening the link between laboratories and AEMP to detect possible supply risks. In this sense, laboratories are required to disclose their prevention plans in case of supply issues,» García said.
The project also supports the early incorporation of innovative drugs, establishing procedures for conditional, early, and transitional financing for medications with special added value for a population group, reaching a final financing decision.
No reduction in pharmaceutical copayments for low-income individuals
One of the Ministry of Health’s objectives is for this law to include reducing pharmaceutical copayments for low-income individuals, meaning those with lower economic capacity pay less for prescribed medications.
This point was included in the Ministry of Health’s Project but was not incorporated into the bill. According to some health sources, this is because this change also falls under the jurisdiction of other ministries, which have requested more time to make the change.
Despite this fact, health officials are optimistic that this reduction in copayments can be included later in this law, either through a round in the Council of Ministers or in its parliamentary process in the House of Deputies.
FUENTE
