Prescription for controversy
Amendments to Poland's pharmaceutical law, currently the subject of legislative debate, are sparking some heated words. Two of the most controversial changes, envisioning a ban on advertising pharmacies and limits on the online sale of non-prescription drugs, were accepted by the Sejm in February. These propositions were rejected by the Senate last week, however, and the bill will now return to the Sejm.
Additional changes currently in the pipeline involve restrictions on the number of new pharmacies, stricter requirements for running a pharmacy and a ban on running a wholesale operation and a retail outlet simultaneously. Price and profit-margin limits for wholesale and retail would also be created.
These steps do not appeal to everyone, however. "Limiting the number of pharmacies will worsen accessibility to medicines and the quality of service," argues Stanisław Maćkowiak from the Federation of Polish Patients (FPP). "This will lead to a decrease in health standards."
"This move will incapacitate citizens," claims Andrzej Sadowski from the Adam Smith Center. He stresses that the regulation of prices by the authorities rather than by the free market may lead to corruption, and adds that the ban on advertising pharmacies will reduce access to necessary information.
Others see the need to regulate the industry. "A pharmacy is not a bakery or grocery," Dr Mieczysław Walkiewicz from the Sejm Health Commission told WBJ. He stresses that medicines have a significant effect on the human body and that advertising of pharmacies encourages consumption of medicine, which he says is already high in Poland.
"New pharmacies should only be opened by people with the necessary qualifications," Walkiewicz says. He adds that in many towns the number of existing outlets is much higher than in other European countries. As for the limits to be put on wholesalers, Walkiewicz believes they will help guarantee fair competition and that imposing limits on prices and profit margins will save the state budget large sums usually spent on subsidizing medicine.
