No more unwarranted prescriptions

Doctors cannot prescribe more than 3 medications to patients if they don't present enough arguments for it. This is the provision of an order signed last week by Health Minister Andrei Usatii and whose regulations become strictly effective today, Info-Prim Neo reports. “The goal is to ensure the population's access to high-quality, efficient, and inoffensive medical products, as well as to stop abusive medication”, the Minister stated at an earlier news conference. Under the Concept of Rational Use of Medications, the patient should follow the medical treatment according to clinical indications, in doses that correlate to individual characteristics, for a certain cost-efficient period of time. An important part of the medications will be available for sale on prescription only. The Ministry of Health has prohibited prescribing brands, as opposed to generics, and referrals to particular drug stores. The list of medications that can be bought over the counter is available on the website of the National Medication Agency. Despite some previously circulated reports, paracetamol has not yet been excluded from the list. The WHO has recently estimated that around 50% of medications globally are administered improperly, but more importantly are unjustifiably prescribed by doctors.