Chile advances bill to mandate electronic prescriptions and combat drug fraud

Chile is moving forward with legislation to address the significant vulnerabilities of paper medical prescriptions, which are easily falsified, difficult to track, and nearly impossible to audit. Currently, falsifying a medical prescription is not a standalone crime in Chile. A bill progressing through the Senate, identified as bulletin 17.355-11, aims to eliminate this loophole by making electronic prescriptions the mandatory standard nationwide. Data from the Public Health Institute highlights the severity of the issue, showing a 1,000% increase in confiscated pharmaceuticals in the Metropolitan Region between 2021 and 2022. Over a recent three-year period, more than 130,000 units of prescription drugs sold illicitly online or at street markets were seized.

The core objective is to establish a single, verifiable, and traceable system for every prescription, from its issuance to the patient's collection of medication at the pharmacy. This system aims to mitigate the growing risk of healthcare professionals being impersonated through fraudulent prescriptions. An additional, crucial provision requires prescriptions to be issued by International Common Denomination (generic name) rather than by commercial brand names, a principle previously established by Chile's first drug law. The proposed system would equip pharmacists with tools to authenticate prescriptions, thereby disrupting operations of drug trafficking networks and counterfeiters who exploit current weaknesses. Furthermore, it would provide health authorities with essential data on prescribing and dispensing patterns. The reform also seeks to address the high cost of medications, with families directly funding 40% of healthcare expenses, half of which is spent on drugs. This financial burden disproportionately affects vulnerable populations. Reports indicate that branded versions of drugs like Celecoxib or Sertraline can cost 20 to 30 times more than their bioequivalent generic alternatives. A key challenge for the bill is the lack of a defined timeframe for issuing the corresponding regulation, which could hinder effective implementation and potentially prevent the closure of the illicit drug market.