Translated material
The Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation will simplify the issuance of narcotic drugs to patients
The Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation has prepared a draft order that will simplify the receipt of narcotic drugs by patients, said the head of the press service of the department, Oleg Salagay.
So, according to him, a simplified leave will be introduced for patients receiving such medicines repeatedly (if there are appropriate entries in the electronic register). In addition, not only his legal representatives, but also other relatives, as well as social workers, will be able to take medicines instead of the patient.
In addition, the Ministry of Health plans in the near future to increase the stock of narcotic drugs in pharmacies in rural areas and hard-to-reach areas up to 6 months, as well as to increase the rate of one-time distribution of such drugs to patients.
The head of the press service of the Ministry of Health recalled that on December 12, the State Duma in the second and third readings will consider a bill that also simplifies the circulation of painkillers. “It will make it possible to increase the validity of a prescription up to 15 days, ease the requirements for protection, which will reduce the costs of pharmacies. There will be a ban on requiring the return of packaging (ampoules, patches) from patients. Also, we expect that not only pharmacies, but also medical organizations in the countryside will get the right to dispense medicines,” Salagai said.
“The Ministry of Health is agreeing on a project that introduces a simplified supply of medicines for people who receive them repeatedly. In addition, the project will provide an opportunity to receive medicines for patients not only by legal representatives, but also by other relatives and social workers,” Oleg Salagay said.
- In 2014, the problem of providing terminally ill patients with high-quality painkillers received a wide public outcry after Rear Admiral Vyacheslav Apanasenko, a cancer patient, committed suicide in February. According to members of his family, Apanasenko made the decision to die after his wife was unable to get a prescription for painkillers at the clinic.
- The case of the Krasnoyarsk doctor Alevtina Khorinyak, who wrote out two prescriptions for painkillers to Viktor Sechin, who was dying of cancer, was also widely discussed. The patient was not attached to the clinic where Khorinyak worked. During the first consideration of the case in 2013, Khorinyak and a friend of the patient who helped her were sentenced to a fine of 15,000 rubles for forgery of documents and illegal trafficking in potent substances. In October 2014, the court in Krasnoyarsk, having reconsidered the Khorinyak case, delivered a verdict of not guilty.