Faced with forged prescriptions, duplicate issuances, and the diversion of psychotropic drugs into illegal networks, the National Council of the Order of Pharmacists takes a firm stand. The professional body urges the Ministry of Health to finalize, without delay, the digital prescription initiative, which it deems crucial to secure the pharmaceutical chain and protect healthcare providers.
The alarm is sounded once again. The National Council of the Order of Pharmacists escalates its stance and calls on the Ministry of Health to expedite the active rollout of a centralized digital platform for prescribing psychotropic medications. In a public statement issued Tuesday, the council emphasizes that this system is no longer a mere professional demand, but a vital mandate for public healthcare and sanitary safety.
In its official release, signed by its president, Dr. Noreddine Mettioui, the council highlights that this measure has been recommended for several years. It aligns with the body’s proposals designed to safeguard drug distribution, reinforce practitioner accountability, and prevent the misuse of psychotropic substances outside medical parameters.
This demand arises amid persistent fraudulent activities, including forged scripts, prescription abuse, doctor shopping across multiple practices, and the illicit trafficking of controlled pharmaceuticals. According to the organization, these growing violations expose the clear deficiencies of the current framework, which relies almost entirely on paper-based documents.
Beyond combating illegal trade and drug misuse, the council maintains that digitizing prescriptions serves to shield healthcare workers during their duties. It explicitly references frequent assaults against community pharmacists, noting the recent tragic crime committed against a colleague in Constantine.
For the organization, digital prescribing acts as a vital tool to protect both medical and pharmaceutical practices. It will facilitate prescription authentication, verify validity, and ensure nation-wide tracking of orders and dispensations.
The platform is also expected to thwart duplicate prescriptions and improper dispensing, detect altered or stolen forms, and curb illegal usage. Consequently, it will provide enhanced safety for patients, prescribing practitioners, and dispensing pharmacists.
Furthermore, the council notes that the statutory framework for this overhaul is already established. It points specifically to Law No. 23-05 of May 7, 2023, where Article 5a-8 mandates the creation of a national digital registry for narcotic and psychotropic prescriptions within the Ministry of Health.
For the professional association, the focus must now shift toward converting this legal mandate into an operational network through required regulatory decrees and essential technical resources.
With this objective, the council urges authorities to move past declarations and launch a concrete, unified plan with a defined implementation schedule. It specifically calls for swift finalization and rollout of the national electronic network.
The body further advocates for involving physician and pharmacist representatives in formulating the system’s operational and regulatory rules. Additionally, it stresses the importance of ensuring seamless data exchange between prescribers, retail pharmacies, and authorized monitoring entities.
Implementing secure protocols to verify prescribers, authenticate scripts, and log distributed medications remains among the key measures advocated.