Since Monday, May 31, 2021, the French can designate a “corresponding pharmacist” to renew certain prescriptions without having to make an appointment with the doctor.
To declutter doctors and deal with medical desertification, a system already in progress has been simplified. From this Monday, May 31, 2021, patients have the possibility of having a renewal of certain prescriptions thanks to the “corresponding pharmacists” without going through a doctor, according to a decree published on Sunday May 30, 2021 in the Official Journal. This action had existed since 2009, with reference to the Hospital, Health and Territories Act, but it was not really applied because of rather complicated protocols.“The patient can appoint to the health insurance, as corresponding pharmacist, a pharmacist holder of a dispensary, or manager of a mutual or mining relief pharmacy”, indicates the ministerial text, relayed through Le Figaro. The pharmacist will not be authorized to “periodically renew chronic treatments and adjust, if necessary, their dosage”. However, conditions must be met.
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Under what conditions?
The “corresponding pharmacist” and the attending physician must belong to “in the same coordinated exercise”, either the same primary care team, the same center or the same nursing home. “Concretely, if the pain evolves a few days after a visit to the doctor for example, this device will allow the dosage to be changed by the corresponding pharmacist without forcing the patient to have to return to the doctor, declares to West France Gilles Bonnefond, pharmacist in Montélimar and president of the union of dispensing pharmacists’ unions. This will simplify the treatment protocol “.
For a renewal, the original medical prescription made by the attending physician must include “a statement authorizing the renewal by the corresponding pharmacist of all or part of the treatments prescribed as well as, where applicable, a statement authorizing the adjustment of the dosage of all or part of the treatments” and “the total duration of the prescription and of all the renewals carried out by the corresponding pharmacist may not exceed twelve months.”
The choice of attending physician has been compulsory since 2004, while this “corresponding pharmacist” system is optional.