The National Association of Pharmacists (Conalfarm), sent a note to the president of the Labor, Social Welfare and Health Commission of the National Assembly, Daniel Ramos, in which he is asked to incorporate the drafting proposal to the modification suggested by the Organ Executive, section D, article 8 of Law No. 24, which regulates the pharmaceutical profession in the national territory.
Through note 2021-23-CNF-0000151, dated August 22, 2022, they point out that in principle when the alternative to incorporate other drug importers and reduce the oligopoly was presented at the Medication Technical Table, the college opposed it, given that medicines are not a commodity that can be handled in the same way as other activities.
The pharmacy is a dispensing establishment at the service of public health, with affordable prices and under the guidance of a pharmacist, but that does not occur when the owners are not pharmacists and are only interested in selling, indicates part of the note also sent to the President of the National Assembly, Crispiano Adames.
Conalfarm proposes the wording of section D, of article 8 of Law No. 24 as follows: “pharmacies are establishments dedicated, mainly to the preparation and retail sale of medicinal prescriptions, botanical drugs, chemical products, perfumes, cosmetics and the activities of the pharmacies of the countries with the greatest economic progress in which soda fountains, ice cream parlors, community pharmacy integrated into the national public health system operate, as a structural instrument of the National Medicines Policy, who may organize themselves in a cooperative system to contribute to import, and serve the public articles of their nature and activity”.
The note, signed by the president of Conalfarm, Jaime Olive, indicates that it is timely to formalize the service concept of “Community Pharmacy Integrated into the Public Health System”, as a structural instrument of the “National Drug Policy” and to The effects of its support refer to the ruling of the European Court of Justice, of May 19, 2009, where it states that “The ownership and operation of pharmacies must be reserved exclusively for pharmacists for reasons of public health” and through which they argue that this reservation is justified by the objective of ensuring a safe and quality supply of medicines to the population.
They argue that the goal of pharmacists, like that of other people, is to make a profit. However, in the case of pharmacists by profession, it is assumed that they do not operate the pharmacy with a mere profit motive, but also attend to professional criteria.
“People who do not have this condition lack, by definition, the training, experience and responsibility equivalent to those of pharmacists. Given the circumstances, they do not offer the same guarantees as pharmacists,” said Conalfarm.
