Just after the "Double 11" online shopping carnival, when all the online shopping platforms were blazing the "transcripts", the State Food and Drug Administration offered another "gift".
On November 12, the State Drug Administration issued a notice to publicly solicit opinions on the "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Drug Online Sales (Draft for Solicitation of Comments)" (hereinafter referred to as "Draft for Solicitation of Comments") to allow online sales of prescription drugs and display of prescription drug information. This means that the policy of prescription drugs sold online has finally had a clear direction.
However, unlike the "popularity" of public opinion, upon hearing this news, some people in the industry who have been engaged in Internet medicine for a long time are very calm and peaceful, as if everything is a matter of course. The regulatory authorities have also maintained a "low-key and cautious" attitude. Although they have taken a big step in reform, they do not want to bring huge shocks to the market.
So, what does this round of revised drafts or official decrees that will be implemented in the future mean to the industry? Is it the "Charge" that fully opens the era of Internet drug sales, or is it the "catalyst" that promotes changes in the current pharmaceutical retail market? It may require more thinking from the industry.
online sales of prescription drugs, fully liberalized! After years of drafting and discussion,
has solicited opinions many times, and the wind has reversed several times, and online prescription drugs have finally embarked on the road of "relaxation". The latest "Draft for Comments" published by
clarifies that drug marketing license holders or drug dealers are allowed to carry out online sales of prescription drugs, but vaccines, blood products, narcotic drugs, psychotropic drugs, toxic drugs for medical use, radioactive drugs, and drugs Precursor chemicals and other drugs that are subject to special administration by the country shall not be sold online.
"Draft for Solicitation of Comments" also puts forward the following requirements:
1. Pharmaceutical retail companies that sell prescription drugs through the Internet shall ensure that the source of electronic prescriptions is authentic and reliable, and conduct prescription adjustment reviews in accordance with relevant requirements, and electronically mark used prescriptions.
2. Online drug sales shall not exceed the business method of the enterprise and the scope of drug business. If a drug network seller is the holder, he can only sell drugs with the approval number. Those who have not obtained the qualification for drug retailing shall not sell drugs to individuals.
3. Drug online sellers can conduct drug online sales through self-built websites, network client applications, third-party platforms, or in other forms relying on relevant online service providers to build online stores.
4. When selling medicines to individuals, sales certificates shall be issued in accordance with regulations. The sales voucher can be issued in electronic form.
5. Pharmaceutical retail companies sell drugs through the Internet, and may not give prescription drugs and Class A non-prescription drugs to the public in the form of buying drugs for giving drugs, buying commodities for giving drugs, etc.
6. Drug online sellers should keep complete records of supplier qualification certificates, purchase and sales records, electronic orders, online pharmaceutical services, etc., and drug retail companies selling prescription drugs should also keep electronic prescription records. The retention period of relevant records shall not be less than 5 years, and not less than 1 year after the expiry date of the drug. Shao Qing, CEO of
Pharmaceutical Empowerment Technology, said that compared with the previous rounds, this round of "Drafts for Comment" is more open and basically represents the voice of the industry, which is more in line with the future development trend of the industry. It has a promoting effect.
He believes that there are three specific manifestations:
One, the "Draft for Solicitation of Comments" makes it clear that the main body of online sales of prescription drugs is the drug marketing license holder or the drug business enterprise. That is to say, as long as it is a pharmaceutical business enterprise, it is possible to sell prescription drugs online, including single pharmacies. This is a very important point to make the threshold for starting a medical e-commerce fairer and attract more pharmacies to participate.
Second, the definition of the scope of prescription drugs sold online is more appropriate and more in line with the reality. The categories that the "Draft for Comment" explicitly prohibits sales, such as vaccines, psychotropic drugs, and toxic drugs for medical use, are not what most online pharmacies want to operate.
Third, the "Draft for Consultation" defines the responsibilities and obligations of enterprises and third-party platforms more clearly, with clear definitions and expressions, and appropriate penalties, which can regulate the chaos of the industry without being too overwhelming.
comes from the controversy
has come along with online prescription drugs, and there are endless controversies.
In 2013, the former State Food and Drug Administration decided to organize a trial of online sales of drugs on Internet third-party platforms.Various reasons such as vague physical responsibilities and illegal sales of prescription drugs were suspended in May 2016.
In 2017 and 2018, the "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Online Drug Sales (Draft for Comment)" and the "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Online Drug Sales (Draft for Comment)" successively solicited external opinions, but both required that prescription drugs should not be sold through the Internet or the Internet Display prescription drug information.
But all this ushered in a turning point after the implementation of the newly revised "Drug Administration Law" at the end of 2019. Although the law did not order to allow it, it did not explicitly prohibit it. The industry interpreted this as: online sales of prescription drugs are no longer prohibited. Soon afterwards, the relevant person in charge of the State Food and Drug Administration stated on different occasions that he was formulating relevant supervision and management measures for online prescription drugs.
On November 12, 2020, this round of "Drafts for Comment" was released, and it is finally planned to officially release prescription drugs online.
It is worth noting that although the policy-making department finally took a big step in reform and decided to open the gate for online sales of prescription drugs, it remained cautious.
Souyao once wanted to ask a person in charge of an authoritative pharmaceutical e-commerce platform about some of the "Draft for Comments". However, the person said that after the "Draft for Comments" was issued, the local regulatory authority greeted him with a call He tried not to make too many personal statements in the public media. According to
search for drugs, this may be that the policy-making department does not expect to cause market turbulence due to the excessive reform scale, but rather hope that the policy can be implemented smoothly.
Internet medical practitioners:
has a peaceful mindset, unlike the hot public opinion and the cautious fears of the regulatory authorities. Seeing this round of "Drafts for Comments", most Internet medical practitioners are "hearts like ancient wells, calm."
Shao Qing told Souyao that when he saw the news, his mentality was relatively calm, and he felt that this was a matter of course: "Although the industry has been waiting for this document, it has little to do with the specific business. It’s better to publish, and not to publish will not affect business development.”
This is because although the online prescription drug policy has experienced twists and turns, and even lags behind, the industry has never stopped exploring it. From the opening of the first domestic online pharmacy "Shanghai No.1 Pharmaceutical" in 1998, to the acquisition of the first medical e-commerce license by Jingwei Pharmacy in 2005, to the emergence of industry giants such as Ali Health, JD Health, and Ping An Good Doctor. After more than 20 years of exploration, the pharmaceutical e-commerce system including online prescription drugs has developed very mature. Regardless of whether there is a document released, the industry has implicitly accepted this unchangeable fact. Especially in recent years, the state has continuously opened up to the Internet in terms of medical insurance and medical treatment, which verifies that the direction of using the Internet for drug sales is correct.
Shao Qing said that in terms of data flow, online has natural advantages over offline, especially in terms of drug traceability and full transparency.
For example, during this Tmall Double Eleven, Ali Health launched the first online drug purchase fidelity mechanism: After consumers purchase drugs with the "little blue heart" mark on Tmall, they can scan the code through Taobao and Alipay. The source of the medicine can be traced back in a new way, and at the same time, you can get a genuine insurance that pays 10 for a fake. In addition, obtaining medical and health services online has been widely accepted by the public.
On November 12, Alibaba Health announced data related to Double 11, which showed that during Double 11 this year, Tmall Pharma’s post-95 active users increased by 102% year-on-year, and the per capita purchase of health products after 95 increased by 18 yuan, and the purchase of health products after 00 The per capita amount has also increased by nearly 10 yuan. Through long-term inspections,
has proved that the Internet is a reliable, credible and safe way to sell prescription drugs. Therefore, the introduction of the policy has played a more important role in rectifying the name of prescription drugs sold online, thereby enhancing the confidence of the industry and allowing more pharmacies to join it.
