A citizen says that she can buy medicine at any pharmacy in capital, even if she does not have a doctor`s prescription. Even though she says she mostly buys Paracetamol or Ibupofen for which a prescription is not needed, she says that she also bought her father`s hypertension medicine without a prescription.
“I just told them the name of the medicine and they gave it to me. They happened to ask me who am I buying it for and gave me some advice, but they never prevented me buying it even though I did not have a doctor`s prescription,” says Albina Hoxha from Drenas.
The pharmacist Vesa Halimi says that there is a number of medicines that are dispensed without a prescription, for several reasons. Some specific medicine (some non-opiate analgesics, some supplements, emergent contraceptives, some antihistamine, etc.) can be dispensed by the pharmacist, but some other medicine (specifically antibiotics and psychotropic drugs…), can be bought only with a doctor`s prescription.
“Many prescriptions come unfinished, without the patient`s name, without an ID number, with no diagnosis or other specifics. Not to mention prescriptions written by unauthorized people. A doctor`s signature ensures me that the prescription has been written by an authorized person,” Halimi says.
The Ministry of Health requires pharmacists to keep copies of the prescriptions with antibiotics and psychotropic drugs to show that the products have been dispensed. They are also used to maintain statistics of pharmaceutical products.
One needs a special approval to obtain narcotics. Thus, Codeine – an opiate analgesic (morphine derivative) that is used for the treatment of dry cough, is rarely used and cannot be sold without a prescription. When a patient comes to the pharmacy with a prescription for Codeine, the pharmacist will keep the prescription.
In Kosovar pharmacies, Codeine is available in the form of a 15 mg pill, and the pharmacist decides how it should be used and what time it should be taken, based on the prescription..
Article 19 of the Law for Medicine Products states that the Kosovo Medicine Agency (KMA) defines the sub-category of the medicine being prescribed. This happens when these products pose danger for the public health, directly or indirectly, and if they are regularly consumed, or taken without medical supervision.
According to this law, if the medicine contains a non-restricted quantity of narcotic or psychotropic substances that are acknowledged by the international conventions (UK Conventions of 1961 and 1971), or if the medicinal product which is used in an improper way poses danger and can make people addicted, these products are prescribed in the prescription for specific narcotics.
The pharmacists admit that there are times when patients arrive with an empty bottle/box of pills and the pharmacists refill it, always explaining to them the purpose of the medicine and advising them.
“We do not sell tranquilizers and other medicines without a prescription. We sell only over the counter (OTC) medicines without a prescription,” the pharmacist Rozafa Pireva says.
Many countries in the region and in the world apply the electronic system (e-prescription) of prescription. This e-prescription allows the system sends the prescription directly to the pharmacies. This makes it easier for the pharmacists, because then he has a register of the history of the patient.
However, Kosovo still uses handwritten prescriptions.
Shaban Osmanaj, acting director of the Department of Pharmaceutical Inspectorate, mentions only one case during 2016 when a pharmacy illegally sold a psychotropic medicine without a prescription. The manager of this pharmacy was fined according to the law and the case was sent to court.
The Pharmaceutical Inspectorate claims to have performed over 650 inspections, of which, 288 regarded Good Pharmaceutical Practice.
According to the law for medical products and equipment, the Pharmaceutical Inspectorate can fine pharmacies up to 1,000 Euro. Aside from criminal responsibility, other actions can be taken. Pharmacists can be fined from 1,000-50,000 Euro, depending on the responsibility of the person and the potential damage caused to people`s health.
Puhiza Bekolli
