The net sale prescription medicine seems to usher in the spring

Absrtact: May 28, the state Food and Drug Administration issued the "Internet Food and drug management measures (draft)", proposed that the ban prescription drug online sales, allowing Third-party logistics distribution of drugs, non-chain pharmacy enterprises or online sales of drugs. NET Sale prescription

May 28, the state Food and Drug Administration issued the "Internet Food and drug management measures (draft)", proposed the lifting of the ban prescription drug online sales, allowing the third party logistics distribution of drugs, non-chain pharmacies enterprises or online sales of drugs. The net sale prescription medicine seems to usher in the spring.

However, just last week, the head of dozens of chain pharmacies from many provinces signed a petition to the state Food and Drug Administration and the Ministry of Commerce, against the full release of the net sale of prescription drugs and the "0 threshold" online sales of drugs. At the same time, there are still many problems to be solved in selling prescription drugs.

Beijing Times reporter Ping Yifan

-Statements by all Parties

Major positive for pharmaceutical and electronic business

For a long time, due to the safety of drug use, the state has strict regulations on the sale of drugs on the internet, especially prescription drugs, which usually have certain toxicity or other potential effects. According to the National Food and Drug Administration in 2007 promulgated the "Drug circulation supervision and management measures": drug production, management enterprises shall not use post, internet transactions and other means of direct sales of prescription drugs to the public. In other words, even the legal drug dealers who get the Internet Drug trading Service Qualification certificate and the Internet Drug Information Service license prohibit the sale of prescription drugs.

However, since last year, Alibaba, Tencent has cross-border distribution of drug dealers. This April, the deputy director of the state Food and Drug Administration, Yin, went to Guangdong to investigate the supervision and development of medical and pharmaceutical dealers, and for the first time discussed opening some prescription drug online sales and online health insurance consumption. And just one months later, the quick release of the draft was a surprise for the traditional medicine industry.

China Merchants Securities Research Report pointed out that the prescription drug online sales will expand the power market capacity, the current prescription drugs accounted for about 80% of the total pharmaceutical market, pharmaceutical manufacturers are expected to increase at least 100 billion market volume.

"This is good news for us and policy barriers are breaking down." "China's largest pharmaceutical electric business, Kyushu Tong, a good pharmacist online pharmacy deputy general manager Li Yaifen told reporters. However, in the opinion of Wang Wei, secretary general of China's over-the-counter drug association, the draft has no legal effect and is of limited practical interest to the market.

Entity Drugstore book boycott

A letter is being sent to the State administration of Drug Administration and the Ministry of Commerce at the time of the drug dealers ' struggling to lay out their online sales platform.

Participating in the joint petition of the main Chinese medicine under the National Pharmacy, the people of large pharmacies, such as dozens of chain pharmacies, as well as China Pharmaceutical Business Association, China Pharmaceutical Materials Association, and other nearly 10 countries, local-level industry associations. "In the past, the online ban on prescription drugs, if the policy is open, only a single pharmacy can apply for online sales of prescription drug licences, and allow the third party logistics distribution of drugs." This is a disaster for physical pharmacies. The common people big Pharmacy chairman Cheziron told the reporter.

"Prescription drugs have very strong toxic side effects, our country is a wide range of antibiotic abuse in the country, 0 threshold to open the net sale of prescription drugs will make rational use of drugs is difficult to protect." Cheziron said that the online pharmacy illegal cost is very low, coupled with the online pharmacy territorial jurisdiction, its scope of business can spread all over the country, which greatly exacerbated the difficulty of supervision and supervision workload. If the online pharmacy to reduce access requirements, will lead to the Internet counterfeit drug flooding.

The cause of the collective book of Chain Pharmacy is also the impact of the new deal on the real pharmacy. Yunnan Head of the church said, under the existing policy, the entity pharmacies must pass the new version of GSP certification requirements stringent, in addition to the drug storage, transport conditions are strict, physical pharmacies must also be equipped with pharmaceutical professionals counseling patients with medication. Online sales of prescription drugs once the ban, the loose Internet pharmacies to the physical pharmacy is very unfair, or will bring online vicious competition, through 20 years before the establishment of the drug retail network across the urban and rural areas will be destroyed.

-There are problems

Is counterfeit drugs rampant?

"Regulation of the new deal to reduce the internet to sell drugs on the threshold of access to a number of illegal online shop has the opportunity to put on the legal identity of the cloak, and ordinary consumers simply can not identify the operation of the site is legitimate, so that the counterfeit drug more hidden." "Cheziron said.

According to the reporter understand, the state Food and Drug Administration in July 2013 has launched the "two dozen two build" special action, close the illegal sale of drug sites near thousands, but there are still some sites desperate, online sales counterfeit drug repeatedly banned.

Can distribution be reliable?

According to the draft, online pharmacies "can entrust the logistics and distribution enterprises to store and transport drugs." The previous "Internet drug trading Services approval interim provisions" pointed out that the pharmaceutical dealers must have a GSP certification of the drug delivery system, strictly speaking, third party logistics is not allowed to participate in drug delivery.

Drugs on the storage and transport conditions are strict, "now professional drug wholesale companies can not fully protect the transport conditions, let alone ordinary Express company." "Hunan Yi Feng da pharmacy Chairman Gao said.

According to people familiar with the situation, the net sale prescription drugs will not suddenly release all categories, the use and transport process security more secure varieties will be given priority to open.

How do I get the prescription?

Li Yaifen told reporters that in the future, the patient online purchase prescription drugs, as long as the prescription film to upload to the online pharmacy can.

However, the hospital system has resorted to all the stops in order to prevent the prescription outflow. According to the reporter understands, some public hospitals specialized on-line the entire computer software, the doctor does not open the paper prescription at all. Another hospital to ensure that patients in the hospital to buy medicine, and even ask patients to pay the pharmacy first, and then come to the doctor here to take medicine.

Kang Kanglu, Sichuan De Rendong chairman, said: "Where does the prescription come from?" How do I confirm the recipe for uploading to the Internet? Fake prescriptions are easier to do than counterfeit drugs, and the 0 threshold is easy to make the internet a hotbed of fake prescriptions. ”

Is Medicare still available?

Many patients are more concerned about whether the online purchase of medicine can use the health insurance card. The reporter learned that, at present, retail pharmacies have not yet achieved personal health care account full coverage, online pharmacies want to achieve this breakthrough is far from the future.

In addition, China's health care in the territory management, consumers can only choose local pharmacies to pay for health care. Online pharmacies to completely open up health care needs to get through the "health care in the off-site purchase of drug clearing," the reform is not yet a timetable.

One drug regulator said that the Ministry of Social Affairs to release the online pharmacy health insurance docking is not likely, in addition to the off-site settlement platform is difficult to shape the short-term, health care use supervision is even more difficult.

-Industry Advice

Start Pilot First

More than 10 chain pharmacies issued a joint letter to the Ministry of Commerce suggested that, in view of the special nature of drugs, the internet to sell drugs to the threshold can not be lowered, so in addition to the draft provisions of the drug production enterprises, pharmaceutical wholesale enterprises, at this stage, the single pharmacy is not appropriate to the individual consumers

"The draft should be promoted for comments on certain provisions and drug Administration." Cheziron said that in the face of online purchase needs, on the one hand, should first choose a legal business qualification, management norms of online pharmacies as sales of prescription drugs pilot; On the other hand, it is prudent to develop a list of drugs that prohibit internet operation.

It's too early to let go.

"There is more important legislative work to be done before the Internet can be opened for sale." "The Drug Administration Act, which is related to the online drug sales regulatory system, is being revised," said Ming Mingzhong, president of the China Pharmaceutical Business Association. The law of practicing physicians, the law of Licensed pharmacists, has not yet been promulgated, and the system of trading security, transportation, storage, and third party logistics is not in place, and it is too early to open a prescription drug for sale. ”

In fact, even in physical pharmacies, the availability of occupational pharmacists is very limited. Wang Wei, secretary general of China's over-the-counter drug association, said the problem of selling prescription drugs is more complicated, such as how to open prescriptions in the future, how to certify the authenticity of prescriptions on the internet, who to judge, how to divide the responsibilities of online pharmacists and prescription Doctors, these require more detailed legal provisions, and now the policy package is too extensive.

-Life Survey

Do you buy prescription drugs online?

"Sell pie."

Ms Young, a frequent internet buyer, said that if the internet was released for prescription drugs, "it could be purchased after exchange with an online pharmacist." ”

Mr. Fu, who has been suffering from high blood pressure for 5 years, is also in favor of letting go. "The medicine I need to take every day is very fixed, and if I release the prescription, I can continue to buy the same medicine from the internet just by uploading a prescription." More convenient. ”

"Selling Pies"

In the reporter's survey, some consumers choose not to buy drugs online. Ms. Wang, who works for foreign drug companies, said she would not buy drugs online, especially prescription drugs, for safety reasons.

"Unless the internet is very cheap, I would still go to the pharmacy to buy the usual prescription drugs," Mr. Jia told reporters. And it can be foreseen that the price gap between the prescription line is not too big. ”

-Background Tips

Foreign drugs sold on the internet

From the foreign situation, the net sale of prescription drugs is a trend, but countries on the internet to sell medicine attitude is different.

In the United States through the Vipps (online pharmacy Business Certification website) certified online pharmacies can sell prescription drugs, consumers by mail or fax prescriptions, provide prescription doctor phone number, insurance account four ways to buy prescription drugs online pharmacies. In the UK, prescription drugs can be purchased at an online pharmacy by providing a photocopy of a doctor's prescription.

However, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and other countries prohibit the sale of drugs online. Germany and Japan stipulate that over-the-counter drugs can only be sold on the Internet, while countries such as the UK and Australia have strict control over the access to online prescription drugs and drug sales online.