Exceptional situations where manual prescriptions can continue to be used are laid down in Article 9, Paragraph 2 of Ministerial Order no. 198/2011 of 18 May 2011.
Manual prescriptions can be performed in four exceptional cases:
- home prescriptions;
- electronic system failure;
- professionals with a monthly volume of 50 prescriptions or less;
- other exceptions of proven unsuitability, after professionals have been registered and confirmed by their respective orders.
Drugs of manual prescriptions will continue to be reimbursed after 1 August 2011 provided that the prescription does not exceed the expiration date.
An ePrescription is valid only if it includes a user name and number, and where applicable, the beneficiary account number in the subsystem and the responsible financial institution identified. They are considered tampered with and therefore not subject to reimbursement if they contain any handwriting apart from a doctor's signature.
For manual prescriptions that are to be used in exceptional situations, a medical prescriber must write 'EXCEPTION' on the prescription below the Ministry of Health imprint, followed by a reference corresponding to one of the four aforementioned exceptions.
Portuguese non-residents are entitled to reimbursements only if a prescription is identified with a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) number, its expiration date and the country of the responsible financial institution.
Prescriptions with an 'independent' responsible financial institution are not reimbursed by the National Health Service (NHS).
ePrescriptions employ computer applications approved by the Central Administration of the Health System (Administração Central do Sistema de Saúde - ACSS, in Portuguese).
As regards the procedure for the approval of computer applications, stakeholders must consult the ACSS website to obtain the most updated list of applications that can be used to carry out prescriptions electronically.
The ePrescriptions measure is part of the Economic and Financial Adjustment Programme provisions that Portugal is required to implement by the end of 2011.
Further information:
- Original news article - Health Portal (in Portuguese)
- Ministerial Order no. 198/2011 (in Portuguese)
- Related ePractice news article - PT: Ministerial order establishes legal framework for ePrescriptions
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Quelle/Source: epractice, 11.08.2011
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