A news decree of the Czech Health Ministry allows general physicians (GPs) to prescribe 5% more drugs next year than this year and lowers penalties for doctors exceeding the prescription limit, Hospodarske Noviny reported.
Our view: We see the news as slightly positive; we see this measure will ease the regulatory pressure on drug subscriptions in the Czech Republic.
The drug prescription limit, and fine for doctors exceeding their limit were introduced in the Czech Republic earlier this year, however prescription drug sales were set back even more than intended by the regulator due to the doctor’s unfamiliarity with their prescription limits. Since we see doctors are already fully familiar with the subscription limits, we would see the impact of the current measures not to be higher than the increase in the prescription limit.