Core Recommendations for Equitable Digital Medicine Access

Ensuring equitable digital medicine access stands as a central goal of the Council of Europe’s latest guidance on remote pharmaceutical services. The CM/Rec(2026)7 recommendation requires that authorised pharmacies and non-pharmacy outlets maintain identical standards of safety, quality and continuity whether medicines are supplied in person or online, while closing regulatory gaps that risk distorting medicine use or public health.

Aligning Oversight Across Borders

There are several high-impact elements that directly affect health-system efficiency. Remote and online services must not create advantages for digital providers over physical ones, thereby avoiding market distortions in pricing, utilisation or reimbursement. Key safeguards include designated responsible persons at each outlet, prescription verification, risk assessments for high-risk medicines and compliance with both origin and destination country rules. These steps enable consistent research by keeping data on medicine use and patient outcomes comparable across channels.

Strengthening Legal and Technical Foundations

Building on the MEDICRIME Convention and prior resolutions on data protection, the recommendation outlines legislative reviews, regulatory capacity building and interoperable IT systems for secure exchange of electronic records and e-prescriptions. Member states are asked to map oversight gaps, compile harmonised lists of medicines suitable for remote supply and publish registers of authorised providers.

Protecting Value and Preventing Exclusion

These provisions promote equitable digital medicine access while reducing the chance of increased downstream costs from misuse or substandard products. Requirements for continuity of care, prescriber-pharmacist collaboration and safeguards against digital exclusion help sustain value-based pricing models that depend on reliable real-world evidence. Cross-border cooperation and platform accountability measures further stabilise supply chains and expenditure patterns.