Azerbaijan puts into practice new prescriptions
By Nigar Orujova
Doctors in Azerbaijan will soon switch to a new form for prescriptions, as the Health Ministry is preparing new rules on prescribing medicines.
Parviz Azizbekov, the head of the inspectorate for control over the quality of medicines at the Health Ministry’s Centre for Analytical Examination said on October 20 that the rules are already at the stage of approval.
“Under the new rules, in prescriptions the doctor will have to indicate the international non-proprietary name of the medicine, which shows the name of the active substance included in its composition,” he explained.
“After the approval of the new rules, prescriptions should be written out only in this form. Doctors who will not observe this rule will be brought to the corresponding responsibility,” said Azizbekov.
Thus, the patient will be able to choose the medicines himself according to the price and manufacturing country.
The government began to regulate the prices of medicines starting from September 15. So far prices for over 1057 essential medicines were lowered. The costs of all medicines on sale in Azerbaijan are expected to be adjusted by the middle of next year.
Compared with current prices, the prices of 46 percent of cost-controlled medicines have been cut by more than half, and more than 24 percent of medicines by over three times.
In general, prices have fallen for 94 percent of all medicines that have regulated costs.
Today, 57 percent of medicines registered in Azerbaijan are produced in Europe, 26 percent in the CIS countries, including 12 percent made in Russia. The small proportion is the medicine produced in Asian countries.
The country has registered more than 4,500 brands of more than 20,000 types of medicine. All medicines imported to Azerbaijan are examined before reaching pharmacies and hospitals.
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Nigar Orujova is AzerNews’s staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @o_nigar
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