The sale of antibiotics without a doctor's prescription will be prohibited.

The amended Pharmacy Law prohibits the sale of prescription drugs without a doctor's prescription, and pharmacists and pharmacy staff must also only sell them with a prescription.

On the afternoon of November 20th, leaders of the Ministry of Health signed a commitment to implement the national antimicrobial resistance prevention plan for the period from 2013 to 2020. Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien stated that antimicrobial resistance is a global problem, particularly prominent in developing countries, including Vietnam. Statistics worldwide show that hundreds of thousands of people die each year due to antimicrobial resistance, costing hundreds of billions of USD. The World Health Organization (WHO) and other international agencies have indicated that antibiotic resistance is a serious threat, becoming a challenge to disease treatment in the future.

In response to the World Health Organization's campaign to encourage community participation in combating antimicrobial resistance, the Ministry of Health launched a nationwide Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week from November 16th to 22nd. Numerous community activities were organized in various provinces and cities, including a campaign to collect one million signatures pledging responsible antibiotic use, with approximately 10% signing in person and 90% on the Facebook fanpage "Antimicrobial Resistance Week 2015 - AMR Week 2015 Viet Nam".

Leaders of the Ministry of Health sign a commitment to implement the national antimicrobial resistance prevention plan. Photo: LH.

The Ministry of Health urges every citizen to only purchase and use antibiotics when examined and prescribed by a doctor, and to strictly adhere to the treatment protocol. The use of antibiotics in agriculture and livestock farming must also follow the guidelines. Healthcare workers must comply with professional guidelines, use antibiotics rationally in treatment, and ensure patient safety.

Associate Professor, Dr. Luong Ngoc Khue, Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management, affirmed that antibiotics are essential for treating people with bacterial infections. However, he warned that the inappropriate use or abuse of antibiotics when not suffering from a bacterial infection will increase antibiotic resistance in disease-causing bacteria, creating a shortage of new antibacterial drugs, especially antibiotics for treating patients infected with multidrug-resistant microorganisms. The resulting consequences include increased social and financial costs in treating antibiotic-resistant infections, prolonged treatment time, poor prognosis, high mortality risk, and becoming a burden on individuals, families, and society.

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To ensure the rational use of antibiotics, Minister Kim Tien believes that widespread public awareness campaigns are needed to improve the understanding of doctors, healthcare workers, pharmacists, and patients alike. Specifically, doctors and healthcare workers must prescribe antibiotics rationally, only prescribing them when necessary. Patients need to understand that they must use prescription medication and not use antibiotics indiscriminately, but rather rationally and according to indications. The head of the health sector acknowledged the reality in Vietnam where people can easily buy antibiotics at any pharmacy without a prescription, whereas in developed countries, a doctor's prescription is required.

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Currently, the Law on Pharmaceuticals prohibits the sale of prescription drugs without a prescription, and also has clear regulations regarding prescriptions for doctors. Minister Tien believes that additional regulations and stricter control measures are needed for drug sales staff at pharmacies outside hospitals. To achieve this, the involvement of inspection, supervision, and enforcement agencies is necessary. She suggested that the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management and the Department of Pharmaceutical Management research and coordinate the issuance of a Circular on prescribing and selling prescription drugs at pharmacies, especially those meeting GPP standards.

The revised Law on Pharmaceuticals, which the Ministry of Health is submitting to the National Assembly and is expected to be passed in the next session, includes a regulation prohibiting the purchase and sale of drugs without a doctor's prescription. According to the draft, pharmacists and drug sales staff at pharmacies must only sell drugs with prescriptions, especially those pharmacies that meet GPP (Good Pharmacy Practice) standards. "If we don't make a breakthrough and revolution, at some point, more than 90 million of our people will have no access to medicine," the head of the health sector expressed his concern.

According to vnexpress