A pharmacist is not a doctor, a baker is not a pharmacist

In December 2021, the editorial office of the MGR. FARM asked the Ministry of Health and the Supreme Pharmaceutical Chamber: whether pharmaceutical care can be provided outside the pharmacy.

The chief specialist at the Communications Office of the Ministry of Health informed that "the fact that pharmaceutical care is an activity intended to be performed by a pharmacist does not mean that a pharmacist can perform it under any circumstances. Pharmaceutical care is dedicated to its performance only in generally accessible pharmacies. This is straightforward. from the provision of Article 86 (1) of the Pharmaceutical Law, according to which the name of the pharmacy is reserved only for the place of providing, inter alia, pharmaceutical care, which should be interpreted in the way that if this type of care can be provided somewhere, it is the only appropriate place there is a pharmacy open to the public. Its administration in other entities is not and has never been taken into account. "

The Supreme Pharmaceutical Chamber provided a comprehensive answer, in which the conclusion was as follows: "in the opinion of the Supreme Pharmaceutical Chamber, the above statutory regulations precisely indicate that pharmaceutical care may be provided by a pharmacist only in a pharmacy. The regulations do not provide for the possibility of its provision in other places, including . including a herbal and medical store, a specialist medical supply store and a private office.

On January 26, 2022, the Supreme Pharmaceutical Council (NRA) adopted a position on the provision of pharmaceutical care, the provision of pharmaceutical services and the performance of professional tasks outside the pharmacy, in which it stated, inter alia, "The NRA is of the opinion that some forms of independent pharmacist practice may also be performed outside the pharmacy. These include: pharmaceutical care." The position of the NRA is inconsistent with generally applicable law. Anyone who takes the position that the applicable law can be broken is calling for a crime. The opinion of December 2021 and the position of January 2022 are extremely different. It is more than an internal contradiction - it is embarrassing.

A long time ago, in the Middle Ages, two professions were separated: doctor and pharmacist. Currently, a doctor can practice his profession in an outpatient clinic, in a hospital, or in a private office. On the other hand, a pharmacist can practice his profession in a pharmacy. If members of the NRA are ashamed to practice a beautiful profession in a pharmacy, they should resign and start working, for example, in a bakery where they will be able to continue to wear a white apron.

mgr farm. Walenty Zajdel