OK for emergency Rx dispensing in France

A new government decree on the emergency dispensing of prescribable drugs in pharmacies has been announced in France. According to the country's Ministry of Health, pharmacists are to be authorized to provide drugs to patients whose prescriptions have expired, where chronic conditions require regular medication doses. According to a statement by the Health Ministry, the aim is "to allow those patients to avoid a treatment interruption which could be prejudicial to their health."

Among the safeguards to avoid patient abuse of this system, the dispensed drug must have been taken for at least three months and psychotropics are excluded, the French broadcasting firm TF1 reports.

The announcement follows closely from a government initiative to promote self-medication (Marketletter January 18), as part of the government's attempts to reduce reimbursement costs to the taxpayer while offering greater patient responsibility in health care.