Annual prescription - new dosage regimens

As of August 1, in order to issue an annual prescription, an authorized person must enter details of the drug's dosage and duration of use into the cabinet system. The new regulations require the following data:

1. Period of use of the drug
2. Amount and unit of drug dosage
3. Frequency of administration
4. Number of packages
5. Optional: detailed application information for the patient.

The dosage of the drug can be introduced in different ways depending on its form.

Context of change

Until now, the guidelines for taking medication were given in a descriptive manner, which prevented the system from automatically calculating the amount of medication needed to continue treatment. The time of use and method of taking the drug on the prescription were also rarely provided, which could lead to different interpretations of the recommendations by patients.

Alternatives to annual prescriptions

Doctors can still issue prescriptions for up to 120 days with an indication of the number of packages of the drug. For longer treatments, several prescriptions can be issued with a deferred date to ensure patient continuity of treatment.

Technical problems

If you have technical problems with your prescription, report them to the eHealth Center via the website: https://p1pomoc.cez.gov.pl/. The easiest solution in case of difficulties will be to issue subsequent prescriptions with a shorter period of use of up to 120 days and a "date of fulfillment from" so that the patient can continue the treatment without interruption, the health ministry advises.

Summary

The changes are aimed at standardizing and detailing information on annual prescriptions to prevent errors and misunderstandings about patients' dosages. Although the changes require a more detailed approach from doctors, they do not affect patients' access to medicines.

Source: MZ