Mexico to let nurses prescribe medicines and launch free pharmacy network in 2026

Mexico's federal health ministry announced that, starting in August 2026, nurses participating in the Salud Casa por Casa program will be legally authorised to issue prescriptions for basic medicines. The change follows a pilot in the State of Mexico where trained nurses issued more than 100,000 prescriptions during home visits for chronic‑disease patients.

The reform will be coupled with the rollout of "Farmacias del Bienestar", a network of free‑medicine outlets that will operate in urban, semi‑urban and rural communities. The government says the measures aim to speed up treatment for older adults and people with disabilities, reducing delays and unnecessary trips to hospitals. The announcement was made by Eduardo Clark, subsecretary of Integration Sectorial and Coordination of Medical Care.

Critics note that the plan also relies on a private‑pharmacy network to fill gaps when public supplies run short, warning that without proper planning the initiative could become a superficial fix. Nonetheless, officials stress that the new prescribing powers and free‑medicine outlets are intended to improve access to essential drugs for millions of Mexicans.