Psychiatric doctors are not allowed to issue prescriptions for free drugs. The environment considers this a lack of trust and another manifestation of discrimination against psychiatry. This is because it is not clear for what reasons prescriptions for free medicines for mental disorders can be issued by family doctors, nurses, specialists in other medical fields, and psychiatrists cannot, the RPO's communiqué reads.
RPO: Psychiatric doctors can't write prescriptions for free drugs. This is incomprehensible
Published March 26, 2024 09:49
Ombudsman Marcin Wiącek is writing to Health Minister Izabela Leszczyny on the issue. He asks her to consider initiating a change in the regulations governing prescriptions for free medicines for people under 18 and those aged 65+.
According to Article 43a (1) and (1a) of the Law of August 27, 2004 on health care services financed from public funds, in addition to physicians and primary care nurses, prescriptions for free drugs can be issued by:
- A doctor or nurse under an outpatient specialty care contract,
- physician under a hospital treatment contract in connection with the completion of such treatment.
However, doctors at psychiatric care and addiction treatment facilities have been deprived of the possibility of issuing prescriptions for free drugs. This is because Article 15(2) of the Law on Publicly Funded Health Care Services stipulates that psychiatric care and addiction treatment is a separate scope.
In practice, this means that patients under the age of 18 and those aged 65+ discharged from a psychiatric ward cannot receive a prescription for free medication. A similar situation also applies to patients of adult mental health centers, reference level II and III centers of the new model of psychiatric care for children adolescents, as well as mental health clinics, community treatment teams or day wards.
The exclusion of psychiatrists from prescribing free drugs is incomprehensible. In addition, it is very negatively perceived by the psychiatric medical community, who read it as a lack of trust and another manifestation of discrimination against psychiatry. After all, it is not clear for what reasons prescriptions for free drugs for mental disorders can be issued by family doctors, nurses, specialists in other fields of medicine, and psychiatrists cannot.
The RPO asks the Minister to take an urgent interest in the matter and consider making appropriate legislative changes.
The ROP has already addressed the Department of Drug Policy and Pharmacy of the Ministry of Health on this issue, but the response received has not contributed in any way to clarifying the matter and changing the current legal status.
Source: RPO
