We welcome the initiative giving patients the possibility to use digital prescriptions: prescriptions issued by a doctor at home can be issued when going to a pharmacist in another EU member state.
As of late January 2019, the first ePrescriptions can already be used by Finnish patients who visit Estonia. The initiative is of particular importance for patients with chronic diseases, such as allergies and airways diseases, who need medication regularly and over the long term.
It simplifies the lives of patients in the move, reducing the extra-planning and need to stockpile prescriptions by their doctor, or visiting another practitioner in a foreign country.
This new coordination system is the result of a premise adopted in 2011 in the Cross-Border Healthcare Directive. The current progress is possible due to the eHealth Digital Service Infrastructure, funded by the Connecting Europe Facility programme. This possibility should be extended to patients from 22 Member States by the end of 2021.