Ministry of Health will start writing out prescriptions for INN

The current rules approved by the Ministry of Health from 19.07.05 № 360 provide prescription for drugs only with the use of trading names of drugs, this is stated in the notice of StateEntrepreneurship.

This allows physicians to prescribe drugs of a particular manufacturer to patients. Although similar drugs with the same active ingredient were available in pharmacies, but at a much cheaper price. Thus the cost of patient treatment was not optimal, a citizen did not use the right on affordable treatment.

In pursuance of the decision of StateEntrepreneurship, the Ministry of Health has developed the appropriate changes to the current prescriptions procedures and requirements, orders for drugs and medical devices.

The Ministry proposed to solve this problem by changing the approach to writing out prescriptions for medicines: not the trade name of a particular manufacturer, but the international non-proprietary name, allowing the patient to decide on the cost of drugs from different manufacturers independently based on budget.

Ministry offered an exhaustive list of exceptions for prescription with a brand name if the drug has an international non-proprietary name which refers to the similar biological medicinal products.

The proposed changes are supported by the Association of employers of medical and microbiological industry of Ukraine.

The Service approved a draft order of Ministry of Health of Ukraine «On Amendments to the Order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine from 19 of July 2005 № 360».