By Rocío Mellas
On February 14, 2014, the National Law on Drugs came into force in Chile. The initiative, which was written into law after five years consideration in Congress, seeks to ensure access to medications in terms of their quality, efficacy and security.
However, the implementation periods and resources needed to meet the new provisions continue to be the subject of debate. In fact, during the 4th International Congress on Health in Chile (EISACH 2014) the issue became a central topic of discussion.
Mauricio Huberman, the President of the College of Chemists, Pharmacists and Biochemists in Chile, led the discussion Challenges of the Law on Drugs: How will the Law be applied and what are its consequences?
During his presentation, he said that the profession is excited by Law 20724, although he warned that he is also disappointed by the way the regulations are being applied: The statement of principles is fantastic insofar as the pharmacy will finally be a health center and medications will be an essential healthcare resource, but there are some regulations that contradict that and go against the principles and foundation on which the new law is based.
Huberman said that the negative impact of the initiative has been felt by pharmacies, as they have been given a period of six months to adapt to the requirements of implementation. The major investment has been made at the pharmacy level, they are bearing a gigantic weight, he said. However, the President of the College of Chemists, Pharmacists and Biochemists of Chile noted that the industry has been given more time (five years) to carry out the modifications.
Sometimes people don t think about how changing the structure, changing more professionals is, for someone with limited capital just the same as changing a production line for a gigantic laboratory. They produce who knows how many millions and that is just a percentage of that, but for the owner of a pharmacy to make an investment of this kind, they must spend 50% of their capital and that is huge, he said.
He noted that small and mid-sized pharmacies would have to make an investment of more than 500 million Chilean pesos to adapt to the new law.
Drugs and ICTs
The 4th International Health Congress in Chile was held during the ExpoHospital 2014 Fair, an international exhibition of technology, products and services for hospitals, clinics and laboratories.
I think that the technology has slowly increased in the sector but there is still a lot of ignorance about many things related to medications and in some cases there is a lack of oversight that can lead to significant losses. I think that at the university level there are major differences in access to technology among different professions, said Mauricio Huberman.
In addition, he called upon his colleagues at the fair to get up to date with all the new technologies, new applications and new equipment. We have to participate and inform ourselves about issues of interest such as the Law of Drugs and their application, because these cases constitute help to clarify concepts and project a new future, he concluded.
National Law of Drugs 20724
The Ministry of Health of Chile put on a presentation explaining about the provisions of the new Law of Drugs. They include the following modifications:
1. Professionals must write down the generic name of the medications on all prescriptions.
2. Pharmacies are obliged to stock all bio-equivalent drugs.
3. Mobile pharmacies and pharmaceutical warehouses can be installed in places where pharmacies do not exist.
4. Medications must include the commercial price printed on the packaging, and they can be sold in sections.
5. Advertising of prescription drugs is prohibited in the mass media.
