The Cabinet of Ministers has changed the rules for opening pharmacies in villages: what are the licensing requirements
15 January 06:22
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved important changes to the license conditions aimed at simplifying the requirements for premises needed to open pharmacies in rural areas. The changes will make the process of opening pharmacies in villages easier and more affordable. This is reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to the Government portal.
Now, in order to obtain a license to open a pharmacy, there is no need to make complex architectural alterations to the premises – it is enough to simply zone the pharmacy space in accordance with the updated requirements.
“This will make it easier for entrepreneurs to choose premises for pharmacies, plan and equip them, and therefore, it will be possible to use the premises for a much lower cost or rent,” the statement said.
The main changes
In general, changes have been made for pharmacies: the requirements for the minimum area of the sales area for pharmacies in villages have been reduced from 13.5 m² to 11 m². At the same time, the requirements for the total area of pharmacies remain unchanged – 30 m².
The requirements for the organization of premises have also been amended .
Previously, the premises of a pharmacy in a village had to be divided into a sales area (at least 6 m²), a storage area for medicines (at least 3.6 m²), and rooms for employees (at least 2.4 m²). Now, within the total area (not less than 18 m²), itis enough for the owners to allocate a trading area of at least 6 m², and the requirements for separate premises for storing medicines and rooms for employees have been eliminated.
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The Ministry of Health of Ukraine noted that the simplified requirements will help more pharmacies to open in remote locations. This will facilitate access to medicines for people living far from cities.
“Currently, only 11% of Ukrainian villages have pharmacies. In total, there are 5,700 pharmacies operating in villages and towns. Such conditions significantly complicate people’s access to medicines. The Ministry of Health of Ukraine is working on other initiatives to make medicines even more affordable,” the Ministry explained.
In particular, residents of villages, frontline and remote areas can take advantage of the delivery of medicines through Ukrposhta (the service is available throughout the country) or mobile pharmacies.
We remind you that the Affordable Medicines program will be expanded to include more than 30 new active substances in 2025. This is the largest expansion since its launch.
Thus, starting from January 1, citizens can receive 596 medicines under the Affordable Medicines reimbursement program.
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