Electronic prescriptions would help to achieve many tasks much faster and easier, but this issue should be addressed at the federal level. This was announced to NSN press center by Victoria Presnyakova, Executive Director of the Association of Independent Pharmacies, head of the Alliance of Pharmaceutical Associations.
“The issue is left to the regions, but we would like it to be resolved at the federal level. Of course, in Moscow, with the Unified Medical Information and Analytical System (EMIAS), it is easy to issue and use electronic prescriptions, but we have a lot of regions that have spent the funds provided but have done nothing to establish the electonic system,” said Presnyakova.
Yan Vlasov, the co-chairman of the All-Russian Union of Patients, said that a unified format is needed to introduce electronic prescriptions. “The Union of Patients was one of the initiators of the electronic prescription introduction, we had been hopeful about the measure. Million-plus cities are ready for this work, but in small towns and depressed regions the situation is much more complicated. There are problems with communication, with operators, with the Internet, but the task must be completed. We need a unified format, and this should be controlled by the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Finance,” he concluded.
In July, the Moscow City Hall reported that all Moscow polyclinics issue electronic prescriptions with a QR code for obtaining subsidized and regular medications, as well as medical devices. In just four years, since the introduction of the service in 2021, Moscow doctors have issued over 75 million such prescriptions.
“It takes about 30 seconds to issue an electronic prescription, while the risk of errors when prescribing drugs is minimal. In addition, such a prescription does not need to be printed, it cannot be lost, forgotten or damaged, it is always at hand in the patient’s smartphone. All medical prescriptions are recorded in My prescriptions section of the patient’s electronic medical record,” said Anastasia Rakova, Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Social Development.