A draft law proposes the establishment of a platform for electronic medical prescriptions, where drug stocks in pharmacies can also be viewed.
Stocks of medicines would be available on the Shutterstock PHOTO platform
The project proposed by USR “ourges the Ministry of Health to create a platform through which family doctors can issue electronic prescriptions and where patients can see in real time the drug stocks in pharmacies. Practically, the initiative solves what does not work in the current legislative framework”according to a release from the formation.
The initiators are, according to Agerpres, Alin Apostol, software engineer, and deputy Adrian Wiener, doctor.
“It is absolutely revolting that in Romania in 2024 the doctor writes the prescriptions by hand on pieces of paper. The patient then takes the piece of paper and, on the way to the pharmacy, struggles to understand what exactly he has to take from there. I saw that in Poland it is very easy to get the prescription from the family doctor, they either give you a QR code or a PDF, it reaches you on your phone very quickly, it's 100% digital and you keep it on your phone if you want, not in the paper drawer at home. I proposed something similar for Romania as well”, MP Alin Apostol sent.
What the initiative provides
According to the quoted source, the project provides for the issuance of electronic prescriptions through a single platform for medical prescriptions, a platform integrated both with the Electronic Patient Record (DES) and with the Single Integrated Information System (SIUI). The Ministry of Health must create this platform, and doctors have the obligation to use it gradually, within three months from the date of entry into operation, the release states.
It is also proposed that drug stocks can be consulted in real time by patients, also through the platform.
“In today's Romania, in order to be able to purchase all the medicines on a prescription, a patient has to go to two or three pharmacies. He has no way of knowing what the stock is for certain drugs in a pharmacy. And so it happens that the pharmacist takes the prescription and says: we only have X and Y here. And then the patient has to go to another pharmacy, looking for the drugs that were prescribed to him. This is not normal, the patient should be able to quickly find the pharmacy on the Internet that can provide him with all the drugs prescribed by the doctor”Adrian Weiner transmitted.
USR also reasoned that, although in Romania there is legislation regarding the issuance of electronic prescriptions since 2012, the system designed at that time is dysfunctional and could not be used on a large scale. “The IT solutions used then are completely outdated today. Therefore, there is a need for a rethinking of the IT solution, but also for forcing the Government to engage in these reforms, in order to make the medical experience easier for Romanian patients”the cited source also showed.
