The buzzword in recent weeks has been fentanyl, but it appears that the number of prescriptions written for the drug is dropping (the problem, experts say, may be that it is available not at all from a legal marketing source, as it can be easily manufactured underground, and is also smuggled in from other countries, primarily China). Right now, the number of prescriptions for oxycodone, another highly addictive drug that was responsible for one of the most serious waves of the opioid crisis in the US, is on the rise. As of 2019, the number of prescriptions issued for oxycodone has increased by more than 50 percent, with more than 104,000 prescriptions issued for the drug this year. The Ministry of Health will monitor the situation. - It may be that the drug is simply needed by patients, but this needs to be checked," said Deputy Health Minister Marek Kos.
The strengthening position of prescribers is also a problem - the number of doctors who work with companies that actually sell prescriptions "on demand" online has exceeded a thousand and the number of patients has exceeded a million. A total of 2 million 850 thousand prescriptions were issued. The value of prescribed drugs that are not - as a rule - reimbursed is also growing.
A representative of the General Pharmaceutical Inspectorate stressed during the meeting that the most difficult thing is the fight against offers for opioid drugs that appear on the Internet. This is because the Inspectorate does not have the tools to order a particular portal to remove them, although some cooperate in this regard - Allegro has decided to remove more than a hundred thousand offers.
The meeting of the Health Committee was convened at the request of opposition MPs, on whose behalf MP Janusz Cieszynski, former Deputy Health Minister and Minister of Digitization, presented a package of solutions to prevent the problem from escalating - one of which is a recommendation that during a teleprompter the prescription of opioid drugs should only be possible after a real-time video call. However, other Law and Justice deputies - such as Czeslaw Hoc - are calling for going a step further and limiting opioid sales to selected pharmacies only. In turn, prescriptions would be issued only after a personal examination of the patient.
Another recommendation made by Law and Justice deputies is to increase the responsibility of professional self-governments (which would involve more seamless communication of information about suspicious cases of prescriptions for designated groups of drugs to medical and pharmacy chambers). It is worth noting that many months ago, the medical self-government presented a systemic proposal actually limiting the activities of prescribers concerning the definition of the standard for tele-prescribing in a decree of the Minister of Health. This proposal has not been taken up by the health ministry for the past year.
