The regional health minister announces that, before the end of 2025, the Junta will launch a pilot programme that will directly connect doctors with pharmacists to facilitate this process
Pharmacies in Andalucía will soon be able to request prescription renewals for patients with chronic conditions or illnesses, eliminating the need for such patients to make repeat appointments with their GP solely for this purpose. This was announced on Sunday by regional health minister, Antonio Sanz, at the main event in Seville to honour the Immaculate Conception, the patron saint of pharmacists. "Before the end of the year, we will launch a pilot programme that will directly connect doctors and pharmacists through a new communication channel, improving patient safety, monitoring of prescribed drug treatments and continuity of patient treatment," explained Sanz.
According to Sanz, this new scheme, which will connect the pharmacist with the person prescribing the medication, "will be installed in all pharmacies at the beginning of the year and, in March, will allow the pharmacist to request the renewal of prescribed treatments for chronic patients without the patient having to make an appointment or go to the health centre".
As the Junta has stated in a press release, this programme will have a final phase that will allow, in the second quarter of 2026, any pharmacy outside of Andalucía to also communicate with a doctor from the Andalusian health service.
Sanz described this development as "good news", which will mean "an improvement in healthcare for the people". He added that this move reinforces his conviction that "community pharmacies are a strategic ally for our healthcare system".
The regional health minister also praised the "close collaboration" between his department and community pharmacies, which he described as "a fundamental part of the Andalusian public healthcare system". A system, he said, "that is better thanks to them and something we should all be very proud of".
Likewise, Sanz highlighted the collaboration of pharmacies during the Covid-19 pandemic, noting that they were "on the front line, helping, attending to the needs that arose unexpectedly, always standing by the people". He also mentioned their contribution this year to the development of the West Nile virus control and monitoring programme and to the smooth running of this year's start to the winter season, "informing and disseminating the necessary protective measures to the most vulnerable, especially in the municipalities at highest risk".
Finally, he pointed out that there are many lines of joint work between his regional ministry and the main body in Andalucía representing all certified pharmacists regarding public healthcare and the rational use of medicines, among other issues. "We will continue to make progress on improvements that strengthen this collaboration between pharmacies and the public [healthcare] system with a single, common and shared objective: to improve the lives of the people of Andalucía," he concluded.