Comparative legal framework for the dispensing of medicinal products in pharmacies in the different member states of the European Union

Abstract

Dispensing is the act carried out by a pharmacist or under his supervision, aimed at ensuring that patients receive the medicines in the precise doses according to their individual requirements, for the appropriate period, with the information for their correct use, and in accordance with current regulations. To understand this act, the concept of medicine, the studies that a pharmacist must take, the regulation of the concepts of pharmaceutical management, as well as the pharmacy offices in the European Union have been previously analyzed. Finally, compare the act of dispensing in each of the countries of the European Union. To make that comparison, each of the rules directly affecting the act of dispensing medicinal products in each Member State has been translated, analysed and interpreted. The aspects that have been investigated have been: the obligatory presence of a pharmacist in the pharmacy office; the sale of medicinal products in establishments other than pharmacies; the ability to replace those medicinal products subject to medical prescription by the pharmacist; and, the regulation of the online sale of medicines subject to medical prescription. Although it is true that it has been concluded that the presence of the pharmacist is mandatory in 99% of the countries, no total harmony has been found in the regulations of the rest of the parameters subject to comparison in this research work.