Test purchases of medicines

The Ministry of Health has developed a draft law that would grant Roszdravnadzor the authority to conduct test purchases of medicinal drugs. According to the authors of the draft, this will enable the prompt identification of substandard medications.

The draft federal law "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation Regarding the Empowerment of the Body Exercising Control and Supervision in the Sphere of Health with the Right to Conduct Test Purchases" proposes granting this right to Roszdravnadzor.

According to the drafters of the bill, this will allow for the prompt detection of substandard, unregistered, and falsified medicinal drugs, including those classified as narcotics and psychotropic substances, as well as counterfeit and low-quality medical devices.

It is anticipated that this measure will effectively identify violations of the rules for the retail sale of medicinal drugs or breaches by medical organizations of the regulations for providing paid medical services.

A corresponding notification has been posted on the federal portal for draft regulatory legal acts. The planned effective date of the law is June 2017.

In August 2016, it was announced that starting in 2017, drugs included in the "Seven Nosologies" program are planned to be labeled, with the measure subsequently extended to drugs on the vital and essential drugs list (VED). Labeling drug packages with special chips will be one of the measures to control drug circulation, enabling more effective tracking of falsified products.

According to the head of Roszdravnadzor, Mikhail Murashko, the cost of implementing the system is estimated at over 15 billion rubles.