The Ministry of Health has announced that the list of over-the-counter drugs in Uzbekistan will be updated and excessive bureaucratic hurdles will be curtailed.
“There are drugs that can pose a serious risk to human life and health if taken without a doctor’s recommendation. But there are also drugs that can be purchased from pharmacies without any restrictions, that is, without a prescription.
But since July this year, when the list of over-the-counter drugs was sharply reduced by order of the Health Ministry, consumers have voiced serious concerns. In other words, the position of monopreparations was reduced to 105, and the list of complex drugs was reduced to 118.
As a result, the patient is forced to go to the doctor’s office, wasting time and waiting in line to buy drugs that can be given even without a prescription. If additional tests are required, he will have to go to the doctor again and get a prescription after receiving a medical report.
Such bureaucratic hurdles have led to a decline in public confidence in the medical system, as well as protests from pharmaceutical companies. This is because the law prohibits the promotion of drugs that have to be prescribed. This limits the public’s awareness of the necessary drugs.
For example, a number of drugs such as tempalgin, mucomilt, dexaflu, tabex can be purchased from foreign pharmacies without any restrictions. However, we ask for a prescription for them.
In order to find a solution to these problems, the Ministry of Health has studied in-depth the international practice and foreign experience. Together with the Antimonopoly Committee, it revoked the existing list of over-the-counter drugs and drafted an order to update it. According to it, the list of over-the-counter drugs is expanding.
The new order will be discussed on the regulation.gov.uz portal in the coming days and will come into force after registration by the Ministry of Justice,” the ministry said in a statement.
