why does nobody talk about EU
why does nobody talk about EU. 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.
Tell me where this is wrong. That is the useful part of posting it.
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.
Agreed that pharmacy margin regulation explains a lot of the price differences people find mysterious.
Cosigning on cross-border prescriptions. The rules exist and they are narrower than the summaries suggest.
Cosigning on cross-border prescriptions.
This is the split the whole board depends on. Authorisation is European; payment is national.
Correction: that is the authorisation position, and the question was about reimbursement. Different bodies, different answers.
Agreed that pharmacy margin regulation explains a lot of the price differences people find mysterious.
Adding the practical step — read your own country’s published criteria. They exist and they are definitive.
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Nothing here is medical or legal advice, and eligibility questions have national answers that a pharmacist where you live can give you in minutes.
keep the prescription and the receipt, both matter for claims
What does the local patient information leaflet say?
Cross-border prescription recognition exists under EU rules but is conditional and narrower than commonly assumed, with requirements about the prescription’s form and content.
What pack size is that price for?
Are you comparing the same presentation, or different pack sizes?
the reimbursement criteria are published in most member states
That shortage notice was national and does not apply where the question is coming from.
Small fix — those two prices are for different pack sizes, which accounts for most of the gap.
Pack sizes and presentations differ between member states, so a headline price is not comparable until it is normalised to a common quantity.
private pricing varies enormously between neighbouring countries
a prescription from one member state is not automatically valid in another
Assumed a prescription would be honoured across the border. It was not, and the rules are clear once you actually read them.
Disagree. That is one member state’s reimbursement rule and it does not generalise across the union.
Disagree.
tove_ogunleye is right about cross-border recognition being narrower than the summaries suggest.
the EMA authorises, member states decide who pays
a shortage in one member state is not a shortage in all of them
Have you read the published reimbursement criteria where you are?
Have you read the published reimbursement criteria where you are?
Disagreeing with this bit: that criterion belongs to one member state and is being quoted as general.
- 1Pack sizes and presentations differ between member states, so a headline…11 comments in this branch · started by u/naomi_erdogan
- 2Published reimbursement criteria exist in most member states and are usually…8 comments in this branch · started by u/zaid_grimaldi