how much of what we believe about pharmacy actually comes from EMA threads
how much of what we believe about pharmacy actually comes from EMA threads. If this has been answered properly somewhere, link me and I will delete.
On cross-border prescriptions, since the assumption behind half these threads is wrong.
There are EU rules on the recognition of prescriptions issued in another member state, and they are conditional: the prescription has to meet requirements about its form and content, certain categories are excluded, and pharmacies retain discretion in practice.
The result is that "my prescription will be accepted anywhere in the EU" is not a safe assumption, and members here have discovered it at a counter in another country. If it matters for a trip, check before you travel with the pharmacy and with somebody qualified where you are. Nothing on this board is advice about that, and the rules are national in their application whatever the framework says.
Asked in my own language at a local pharmacy and got a clearer answer in five minutes than a fortnight of forum reading.
The structure that makes this board make sense, once.
Marketing authorisation for these products is granted centrally, which is why the same product exists across the union. Everything after that — whether it is reimbursed, on what criteria, at what price, in what pack size, dispensed under what margin rules — is decided nationally.
So "is it covered" has twenty-seven answers, "what does it cost" has twenty-seven answers plus within-country variation, and only "is it authorised" has one. Almost every argument on this board is two people answering different questions from different countries, both correctly.
That is everything I have. The rest is opinion and I have tried to keep it out.
best — the order this archive was captured in
Published reimbursement criteria exist in most member states and are usually available in the national language. They are the authoritative answer to eligibility questions that this board can only guess at.
Careful, that guidance is from a different country and this thread is asking about somewhere else entirely.
What pack size is that price for?
What pack size is that price for?
This is the split the whole board depends on. Authorisation is European; payment is national.
Reimbursed or private?
EU-wide advice is almost always wrong somewhere
pack sizes differ, so per-month comparisons need care
pack sizes differ, so per-month comparisons need care
vito_chowdhury is right about cross-border recognition being narrower than the summaries suggest.
keep the prescription and the receipt, both matter for claims
The translation cost of dealing with a foreign pharmacy was the thing I had not budgeted for.
a shortage in one member state is not a shortage in all of them
Small fix — those two prices are for different pack sizes, which accounts for most of the gap.
reimbursement is national, not European, and that is the whole board
reimbursement is national, not European, and that is the whole board
Adding the practical step — read your own country’s published criteria. They exist and they are definitive.
private pricing varies enormously between neighbouring countries
private pricing varies enormously between neighbouring countries
Agreed — and normalising pack size before comparing prices is the fix for half these threads.
pharmacy margins are regulated differently in each country
Correction: that is the authorisation position, and the question was about reimbursement. Different bodies, different answers.
Supply notices are issued nationally. A notice in one member state does not imply availability problems in another, even for the same product.
Is the prescription from the same country as the pharmacy?
say which country or the thread is useless
Correcting myself upthread: the criterion I quoted was updated for this year.
Marketing authorisation is granted centrally for these products; reimbursement, pricing and prescribing criteria are national competences. Those are decided by different bodies with different processes.
This. The published reimbursement criteria are the document to read, and most member states do publish them.
Pack sizes and presentations differ between member states, so a headline price is not comparable until it is normalised to a common quantity.
the language barrier is a real cost and nobody budgets for it
Read the published reimbursement criteria where I live rather than asking. Took twenty minutes and answered everything.
That shortage notice was national and does not apply where the question is coming from.
That shortage notice was national and does not apply where the question is coming from.
Disagreeing with this bit: that criterion belongs to one member state and is being quoted as general.
- 1Published reimbursement criteria exist in most member states and are usually…10 comments in this branch · started by u/sten_bhattacharya
- 2a shortage in one member state is not a shortage in all of them8 comments in this branch · started by u/greta_nilsen