From April 1, electronic prescription will start working in Ukraine. You will need it to buy most medicines

From April 1, it will be possible to purchase prescription drugs in pharmacies with both paper and electronic prescriptions. About 60% of all medicines in Ukraine belong to prescription drugs.

This is reported by the press service of the Ministry of Health.

"Approximately 60% of the medicines registered in Ukraine are prescription drugs, for which a doctorʼs prescription is required. You can, as before, buy the rest of the medicines that do not require a doctorʼs prescription at a pharmacy without a special prescription," the message reads.

You will need a recipe to buy:

• antibiotics;
• anticonvulsants;
• hormonal drugs (including contraceptives);
• drugs for the treatment of blood pressure, heart diseases;
• some anthelmintic drugs;
• some antihistamines;
• blood thinning drugs;
• antidepressants, neuroleptics and relaxants;
• steroid medicines;
• some medicines against pain, cough, sedatives.

The Ministry of Health emphasizes that they are not expanding the list of prescription drugs. All those that were previously sold without a prescription remain so. To find out which medicines require a prescription, you need to open the instructions on the website of the State Register of Medicines.

• From November 2022, narcotic drugs began to be dispensed by electronic prescription.
• From August 1, 2022, antibiotics will be sold only by e-prescription in Ukraine. To get a prescription, you need to go to your family doctor or any other medical facility, get an electronic prescription for the active ingredient, and pick up the medicine at the pharmacy.