Pharmacies will be able to dispense antibiotics without a prescription, but only in a dose for 3 days, according to the order of the Ministry of Health, published in the Official Gazette. Until now, antibiotics could be dispensed in a pharmacy only with a doctor’s prescription.

“With the exception of the provisions of paragraphs (1) pharmacists working in authorized pharmaceutical units may, in emergency medical situations, dispense medicinal products from the category of antibiotics and antifungal agents for systemic use, the international common names of which are marked with the sign “*” in appendix no. 1 of this order, in the absence of a doctor’s prescription, in the maximum amount related to the dose for 72 hours, the dose calculated according to the method of administration given in the summary characteristics of the medicinal product. An emergency dose can be issued only once during the treatment of a patient on the basis of a declaration, a sample of which is given in Appendix No. 3, which is an integral part of this order,” the order of the Ministry of Health, published in the Official Gazette, reads.

Antibiotic use increases during the cold season, and Romania ranks third in Europe for antimicrobial resistance, Andrej Baciu, former president of the National Health Insurance Company, said last fall that 4.2 million Romanians had a compensated or free prescription for antibiotic treatment.

“And my advice is simple: don’t take antibiotics unless your doctor recommends it. And this doctor should not be Dr. Google!” said the former president of CNAS.