It will be harder to get prescriptions online. Which drugs are involved?

The purpose of the amendment is to introduce solutions that prevent the prescription of medicinal products containing narcotics, psychotropic substances or category 1 precursors commercially over the Internet without first examining the patient, the explanatory statement reads.

The draft amendment to the regulation on narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, category 1 precursors and preparations containing these drugs or substances tightens the rules for issuing prescriptions over the Internet, the ministry has given only five days for comments on the proposed regulations.

The amendment is to increase oversight of the prescribing of preparations containing narcotics, psychotropic substances or category 1 precursors by stipulating that a prescription for such medicinal products can only be issued in electronic form, the authors explain.

There is no surprise, as the Health Minister has been announcing just such changes for a good few weeks now. The implementation of the regulations, the ministry explained, is expected to increase security in access to the designated preparations. Adam Niedzielski admitted in April that convenience may suffer, but in view of the dangers associated with the abuse of such preparations, this is a secondary issue, and patient safety is the ministry's priority.

Bearing in mind that the prescription of medicinal products containing substances under exceptional control should always be made on the basis of the patient's actual health condition, it is necessary to take urgent measures to prevent the receipt of prescriptions for the above products commercially. The use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances without medical control poses a serious threat to public health , the rationale for the regulation states.

The regulation stipulates that the issuance of a prescription to a patient by a doctor for a preparation containing a narcotic agent of groups I-N or II-N, a psychotropic substance of groups II-P, III-P or IV-P, or a precursor of category 1, will be possible after a personal examination of the patient or, under certain conditions, "examining the patient via ICT systems or communication systems and verifying the amount and type of drugs prescribed to the patient containing the above-mentioned substances in terms of safety and necessity of their use. substances in terms of safety and necessity of their use, taking into account the prescriptions issued and filled for that patient," while issuing a prescription through ICT systems or communication systems will be possible "if no more than 12 months have elapsed since the last examination of the patient, which resulted in the issuance of a prescription for a preparation containing a narcotic agent of groups I-N or II-N, a psychotropic substance of groups II-P, III-P or IV-P, or a precursor of category 1."

The condition of verifying medicines will not apply to issuing prescriptions to a patient who has not activated an Internet Patient Account, due, as the ministry emphasizes, to the lack of possibility of such verification in the P1 system. On the other hand, the condition of examining the patient will not apply to cases in which the patient urgently needs the drug due to the state of his or her health - on the basis of the Law on the Profession of Physician and Dentist, a doctor may, without examining the patient, issue a prescription necessary for the continuation of treatment, if this is justified by the patient's state of health reflected in the medical records.

The Health Ministry also explicitly admits in its justification that the activities of so-called prescribers have significantly facilitated the acquisition of "certain medicinal products" for intoxication purposes - and the changes are also intended to curb this practice.