The limit of 300 prescriptions per day will be abolished. Which entities will no longer be subject to restrictions?

On July 3, 2023, the Ministry of Health introduced a limit on issuing prescriptions. This decision was a response to fraud by some doctors. The new rules allow doctors to write a maximum of 300 prescriptions for 80 patients during 10 working hours. In this way, the Ministry of Health wants to fight against online platforms where prescriptions are issued without prior consultation with the patient (which may pose a threat to his life and health). The exception are reimbursed prescriptions, for which the limits have already been abolished.

Limits on issuing e-prescriptions are to be abolished

On Friday (August 11, 2023), a meeting of representatives of the Supreme Medical Chamber with the Deputy Minister of Health Maciej Miłkowski took place. These were the first talks after the change of the head of the Ministry of Health. The meeting concerned the most important current problems in health care, referred to as #7kaNIL.
According to the Supreme Medical Chamber, a list of entities for which the current daily limit on issuing prescriptions will be abolished will be developed. This list will include public facilities working under a contract with the National Health Fund (primary health care facilities, hospitals, etc.). According to the findings of an RMF FM reporter, the Ministry of Health has no suspicions regarding such entities that prescriptions may be generated automatically, without prior checking whether their issuance is justified in the case of a specific patient. The next meeting regarding health care problems – their solutions and the next items from the #7kaNIL list is to be held next week.

Restrictions on writing prescriptions – what next?

What else will change due to restrictions on issuing prescriptions? “The Ministry of Health, in cooperation with the medical self-government, will immediately begin to develop legal solutions that will prevent the functioning of prescription machines that issue prescriptions only on surveys, without contact with the patient. After these solutions come into force, the limit of 80 patients/300 prescriptions will be completely abolished,” reads the next item on the list of changes to be implemented.

What other changes are to come?

According to RMF FM radio, the topic of restrictions on issuing prescriptions for psychotropic drugs and narcotic drugs was also to be discussed during the meeting. Doctors are to be “freed” from the need to additionally check the patient’s treatment history – everything is to be done automatically so as not to waste time during the visit. “In place of the obligation to check the data from the Patient’s Online Account each time, with the patient’s consent, before dispensing a psychotropic/narcotic drug, an automatic IT solution will be introduced, consisting in displaying in a special information window information about drugs from this group previously issued for this patient and information whether the prescription has been filled.” ” – reads the content of the next item from the list of changes to be implemented for the new Minister of Health, published by the Supreme Medical Chamber. This solution is intended to enable all doctors to identify patients who have addiction problems or those who obtain prescriptions in order to sell drugs. This solution is to function regardless of whether the patient has an Internet Patient Account or not.

The Supreme Medical Chamber also announced in a published statement that “the Ministry of Health, in cooperation with the medical community and pharmacists, will prepare a comprehensive amendment to the act on the rules for issuing and dispensing prescriptions to adapt it to the current realities and telemedicine.”