PHARMACIES in Slovakia may face some changes. New measures are being discussed to modify the current situation, in which many pharmacies refuse to serve as emergency pharmacies and do not provide 24-hour services, the SITA newswire wrote.
“We are analysing this problem in cooperation with pharmacists at the level of individual regional governments and with the Slovak Chamber of Pharmacists (SLeK), but for now it is premature to talk about possible legislative changes,” Zuzana Čižmáriková, a spokeswoman for the Health Ministry told SITA on January 20.
Concrete solutions might be ready in the second half of the year.
“The Slovak Chamber of Pharmacists is negotiating with the Health Ministry about a suitable model for the functioning of emergency pharmacies,” Peter Stanko, a member of the chamber’s executive committee told SITA. He considers solving the financing issues and providing coverage by professionals during these emergency hours as crucial.
The Slovak Law on Drugs and Health Aids requires those holding a licence to run a pharmacy to provide emergency pharmacy services and authorises pharmacists at the regional government level to pick the pharmacies which should do this. Sometimes, the decision-makers have a problem in choosing a specific pharmacy because many pharmacies have only one pharmacist and, simultaneously, they must respect the Labour Code.
