Medical self-government on draft regulation on narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances

The NRL expressed concern about the phenomenon of abusive prescribing of psychotropic and narcotic substances via telemedicine systems, especially without proper patient screening. The presidium stressed that the activities of companies engaged in mass prescribing, especially for these dangerous drugs, pose a threat to both patients and the health care system. The lack of personal contact between the doctor and the patient, especially at the first visit, increases the risk of errors in diagnosis and therapy, which can lead to the provision of inappropriate drugs to unauthorized persons.

Three objections to the proposed solution

Despite its general agreement with the need for regulation, the NRL expressed reservations about several aspects of the draft. First, the local government notes that the proposed regulations do not provide a comprehensive solution to the problem of automated prescribing systems based on online surveys. Instead, the restrictions are to apply only to a few substances, which does not address the problem more broadly.

Second, the NRL's concern is the removal of preparations of hemp herb other than fibrous, as well as certain extracts and tinctures of hemp, from the annex to the regulation. The local government stresses that in view of the growing use of these substances, including for non-medical purposes, it is necessary to regulate them to prevent abuse.

Third, the NRL is critical of the proposal that only primary care physicians should be allowed to issue prescriptions for continued treatment with the substances listed in the appendix, without having to examine the patient in person. This excludes other physicians practicing outside of primary care, which could limit patients' access to essential medicines and lead to discrimination against some physicians and their patients.

Proposals of the local government

NRL suggests that all drugs in the benzodiazepine group should also be included in the annex to the regulation due to their strong addictive potential. Such a change could further strengthen control over the prescribing of substances with a high risk of abuse.

The medical association hopes that the comments made will be taken into account in further work on the draft regulation. This is because the goal is to create regulations that, on the one hand, will effectively protect patients and the health care system, and on the other hand, will not restrict access to necessary therapies.

Source: NIL