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We start with drugs for diabetic patients, with over 200 products that will arrive in local pharmacies. These are essential medicines, until now only available in hospital pharmacies, but which will now be available in your local pharmacy. An important innovation that will expand every year to new categories of drugs, simplifying treatment for millions of sick people, especially for the 22 million chronically ill patients, 8 million of whom are more serious, making access to medicines quicker.
The AIFA decision which concerns over 200 drugs is in force
It starts with the publication in the official gazette on 10 May of the resolution of the Italian Medicines Agency which provides for the updating of the handbook of hospital-territory care continuity, the first tranche of the drug distribution reform. In particular, the decision concerns oral anti-diabetes for over 200 products. The 2024 maneuver provided for the updating of the Handbook of hospital-territory care continuity (Pht) for the transition from the hospital “A-Pht” classification regime to the “A” band of medicines relating to specific classes available in the territory (in pharmacies ). However, the process will include many other drugs and it is estimated that this operation to simplify access to treatment will affect millions of people. AIFA has therefore updated the handbook by identifying the list of drugs that can currently be sold in pharmacies. An update procedure that will then be repeated on an annual basis.
Every year more medicines will be added to the hospital today
With the new rules, in the case of medicines transferred from the so-called “Direct Distribution”, citizens will no longer have to go to the hospital pharmacy to collect the medicines, but will be able to do so in the nearest community pharmacy, under the supervision of their doctor. family. Furthermore, in the case of medicines transferred from “Distribution on behalf” to “Agreement Distribution”, they will no longer have to wait for the medicine purchased by the local health authority to be ordered and arrive at the pharmacy, but will be able to receive it immediately as it is already present in the relevant community pharmacy. «This first operation involves around 130 million euros, which move from direct to affiliated. We will check the economic stability of this mechanism and if it goes as well as we expect, next year it will be the turn of other medicines”, confirmed the Undersecretary of Health Marcello Gemmato.
The economic impact of the new measure will be evaluated
«The Aifa decision which provides for the updating of the handbook of continuity of care with the transition of the classification regime from A-pht to A, or from the hospital to pharmacies, for various anti-diabetic medicines, is welcomed with great satisfaction», states Angelo Avogaro . «In practice, with the new rule – he underlines – the citizen will no longer be forced to go to hospital to collect medicines, and consequently this will allow for less flooding of hospital pharmacies. On the contrary, the patient will be able to find the anti-diabetes drugs he needs directly in the pharmacy near his home, and this is very important.” However, Avogaro specified, «we are not yet sure how much the economic benefit or economic burden of this decision will amount to, if any, from a perspective of sustainability of the system. We will therefore be very careful to understand what the economic-financial impact of the new rule will be.”