The Health Ministry wants to curb uncontrolled prescribing of opioids by prescription machines. A draft regulation on the matter was published Monday, which stipulates that most doctors will only be able to prescribe certain drugs after personally examining the patient.
There is a draft regulation on opioid prescriptions
Published Aug. 13, 2024 07:51
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In late July, at a joint press conference, Health Minister Izabela Leszczyna and Supreme Medical Council President Lukasz Jankowski said that arrangements were still being made regarding the substances that the restriction would cover. The self-government also agreed on which doctors would be allowed to issue further prescriptions for substances on the ministerial list via teleprescription - initially, Leszczyna said there would be no exceptions.
What is the final shape of the health ministry's proposed legislation to address the problem of excessive prescribing of controlled substances? The problem, the ministry stresses, is largely due to the operation of prescription machines, where obtaining prescriptions for such preparations is often done either without a medical history at all, or it is a sham interview that cannot be given the value of reliability and credibility.
The regulation will first include a list of narcotics, psychotropic substances or Category 1 precursors for which the issuance of a prescription will have to be preceded by a personal examination of the patient by the person issuing the prescription. The list includes fentanyl, morphine, oxycodone, tramadol, tapentadol, buprenorphine.
Second, it specifies which doctors will not be affected by the obligation to examine the patient in person - these are PCPs working under a contract with the National Health Fund (but no longer a contract for night and holiday medical care, so the doctor will be able to issue a prescription remotely only during the working hours of the PCP clinic), provided that it is a continuation of treatment.
Once the regulation enters into force, previously issued prescriptions will remain valid (because they were issued in accordance with previous regulations), the MZ explains.
Consultations on the draft will last 14 days. During discussions with the MZ, the medical community indicated that specialists in several other fields, including palliative medicine and oncologists, should also have the right to issue prescriptions remotely. It can be expected that the comments will focus on this area.
