Poland advances pharmacy law reforms; chamber flags gaps

The Polish Ministry of Health released a draft Prescription Law for pre‑consultation, seeking input from professional bodies. The Silesian Pharmacy Chamber submitted a detailed comment outlining five critical issues: no financing mechanism for continued prescriptions, vague responsibilities and cooperation rules with primary care, risk of limiting services to traditional pharmacy premises, barriers to the development of pharmacy service cabinets, and restrictive rules on pharmacist‑issued prescriptions, access to medical records, drug reimbursement and remote services.

Separately, the Foundation Blisko Ciebie proposed controversial amendments, including allowing pharmacy technicians with at least ten years of experience to perform night and holiday on‑call duties independently, tax reductions for pharmacies, permit‑fee waivers in underserved areas, criminalisation of “pill‑stacking,” and stricter geographic/demographic criteria for new pharmacies. The proposal, presented to the Parliamentary Market Pharmacy Team, sparked debate, with the National Pharmacy Chamber warning it could increase market concentration and critics arguing that staffing shortages stem from low wages rather than a lack of pharmacists. Poland faces an estimated shortage of about 7,000 pharmacists.