The Ministry of Health proposes a “dramatic” tightening of the rules for the re-export of medicines as part of the amendment to the Act on the Scope and Conditions of Reimbursement of Medicines. He is also considering the introduction of a criminal offense. In this context, according to the words of the Minister of Health, Kamil Šašek (Voice-SD), the department is in discussion with the Ministry of Justice. He stated this in an interview for TASR.
“We have another big problem in Slovakia, which simply has not been solved here for a long time, and that is the re-export of medicines. We are proposing a rather dramatic tightening of the rules for export, and at the same time we are in close discussion with the Minister of Justice and we agree that prescribing this type of prescription should be a criminal offence.” said the Jester.
The minister emphasized that the aim of the proposed changes is also to improve the availability of medicines for patients in Slovakia. He pointed out that despite the high expenditure on medicines, Slovakia is at the bottom of the European Union in the availability of innovative treatment.
Šaško also pointed out that the state has already started applying sanctions in this area. “For the first time, we proceeded to collect fines,” he said. He added that the department expects strong pressure from interest groups in connection with the upcoming changes, especially in the first quarter of next year. The minister declared that he does not plan to back down on the issue of the re-export of medicines. “The interests there are huge, but I will definitely not back down on this,” he emphasized.
