This is a promise made by Emmanuel Macron in 2017, when he was a candidate. Pharmacists are not obliged to apply it.
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Pharmacists can deliver certain antibiotics individually since Thursday, February 3, according to a decree published in the Official Journal. It was a promise by candidate Emmanuel Macron to fight against the waste and misuse of drugs. The French throw away an average of 1.5 kilos of medicines per year.
This measure is not mandatory: it is at the discretion of the professionals. But they may not be very many to do so. Indeed, selling by unit takes time because you have to open the box, find new packaging, label it and add instructions. Pharmacists say they do not have enough time to carry out all these operations.
“It is the very principle of the false good idea”believes the spokesperson for the Union of Community Pharmacists, Gilles Bonnefond. “It will take time and time is complicated. Receiving bulk drugs with child dosages and adult dosages is not very secure”he adds.
The lack of information on the use of the drug is another problem, according to pharmacists. “It’s interesting if it comes with a pillbox and especially if it’s taken by elderly people who take a lot of medication during the day. The role of the pharmacist would be to accompany them”explained Jean-Pierre Thierry of France Assos Santé.
A unit drug sales trial conducted in 2014 yielded good results, according to an Inserm study. This saved almost 10% of tablets and patients followed their treatment better.