Physiotherapists will also be able to prescribe medication.

BarcelonaThe Council of Ministers approved this Tuesday the draft law on medicines, which aims to reform a system that has remained virtually unchanged since the 1990s. The objective of the future law is to "modernize" the drug pricing system, promote generic treatments, and streamline the prescription of medications. Among other measures, they highlight the need to enable nurses and physical therapists to They can also prescribe Drugs. However, sources from the Ministry of Health tell ARA that it is not yet clear which drugs will be able to be prescribed and that they will have to comply with the new "powers," which are still pending definition.

The College of Physiotherapists of Catalonia celebrated the approval of the preliminary draft of the drug law in a statement, as it believes it will streamline prescriptions and decision-making, and that this "will benefit patients and the healthcare system." Furthermore, the professional association believes the regulation will be "especially important" in areas such as musculoskeletal physiotherapy in pain management or inflammation control, as well as in more specific areas such as respiratory physiotherapy.

On the other hand, the Official College of Nurses of Barcelona (COIB) also applauded that "the door is opened to a clearer and more structured regulation of nurse prescribing, in line with standard practices." The college explained in a statement that it intends to carefully analyze the preliminary draft and the future development of the regulation, and believes that the development of the skills of the nursing community will have a "positive impact on the quality, continuity, and proximity of the care provided to the people being treated."

With this law, the Spanish government also aims to improve access to medicines and reduce public spending. In fact, Pedro Sánchez's administration estimates that more than €1.3 billion could be saved annually, as it will make drug prices more flexible. In 2023, for example, the Spanish government exceeded €27.7 billion in pharmaceutical spending. According to Health Minister Mónica García, the future regulation will also incorporate the "lessons" of the COVID-19 pandemic in areas such as strategic drug reserves to ensure the sustainability of the system.

Waiting for co-payment

Another objective of the law is to reduce the time between the launch of a drug and the decision on whether it will be included in the state-funded system. "We want a maximum of 180 days to make these decisions and maximum transparency," García stated. Furthermore, the minister has advocated for the possibility of including treatments in the system before a decision has been made on how they will be paid for. "We have incorporated a reference pricing system, because the current one is too rigid, preventing real competition between innovative, generic, and biosimilar medicines," García added.

However, the law still has some details to be worked out, as the reform of pharmaceutical co-payments has been excluded from the law. Currently, medicines are financed according to three income brackets: less than €18,000 per year, from €18,000 to €100,000, and more than €100,000. The Ministry of Health wanted to introduce a reform into the law to incorporate four new ones for low-income earners and one more for pensioners, with the aim of making it more proportional to income levels.

However, the Spanish government ultimately failed to move forward. García continues to support this change and is confident of being able to "push" the parliamentary groups. "It's not the same to earn 18,000 euros as 100,000," he asserted. Although the idea has been shelved for now, the Ministry of Health continues to defend it as "a more progressive model." Therefore, the Spanish government insists it will discuss it with the different parliamentary groups.