To improve the accessibility and efficiency of healthcare, the Portuguese Government has introduced new provisions that facilitate the dispensing of hospital medicines in pharmacies in the area.
At a regulatory level this was made possible thanks to Legislative Decree no. 138 of 29 December 2023, which established in the first paragraph of article 4 the “local dispensing of drugs”including, within the identified premises, also local pharmacies.
The value of proximity distribution for citizens
It is useless to underline how the Covid-19 pandemic in particular has highlighted the value of proximity for citizens, with important impacts also of an economic and social nature.
More specifically, in Portugal over 200 thousand citizens treated in hospital for various pathologies – primarily oncological ones, but also for autoimmune diseases, some infectious diseases, rather than for post-organ transplant therapy and mental health, they must go to the hospital every month to collect their medicines they need from their respective hospital pharmaceutical services.
It seems superfluous to point out the organizational and even economic critical issues which patients encounter, often forced to travel long distances, in areas not adequately covered by public services.
The advantages of the proximity dispensing program
It is estimated that there could be some who could benefit from the local distribution service through local pharmacies as many as 150 thousand Portuguesereserving the use of hospital pharmaceutical services for more complex cases to manage rather than for situations in which the therapy requires modifications and a medical consultation is therefore necessary.
Medicines available in the area and program targets
The territorial distribution program results potentially accessible to all patients prescribed drugs dispensed in hospitalsubject to their consent and positive evaluation by the medical teams.
The list of drugs covered by the program has not yet been published; however, it is expected that it will mainly include drugs currently available only through the hospital pharmaceutical service.
Place of dispensing and monitoring
The patients they will be able to choose the place of dispensing and this modality will imply that each hospital unit will have to implement measures to guarantee effective drug-therapeutic monitoring and safeguard patient safety.
Proximity dispensing is the result of a long technical and legal process that involved various Portuguese NHS bodies and partners, including theNational Association of Portuguese Pharmacies.
Starting from small local experiences, a system has been structured that will allow proximity dispensing procedures to be standardized at a national levelimproving access for patients and reducing any inequalities also with a view to better therapeutic adherence.
