Egyptian Health Minister Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar announced on 4 December that only “qualified pharmacists” will be allowed to administer intramuscular and subcutaneous injections to patients at pharmacies.
This marks the first time Egypt has regulated the practice.
It mandates that patients must be in possession of a prescription and that an anti-allergy medication must be available at the time of administration.
Additionally, pharmacists will be required to pass an advanced training course before being permitted to administer injections. These courses will commence soon, and medical certificates and licenses will be granted to personnel who complete them.
The decision has been issued following an incident earlier in October where two sisters died as a result of an antibiotic shot, as the pharmacist “failed” to test for allergies. Both the pharmacist and her assistant were subsequently brought into custody, facing charges of practicing medicine without a license, according to a statement issued by the Egyptian Prosecution.
The Ministry of Health coordinated with the House of Representatives’ Health Committee, the Doctors’ Syndicate, the Pharmacists Syndicate and the Egyptian Medicines Authority to bring this decree into being.
Despite being prohibited by Egyptian law, pharmacists continued to administer injections as a way of helping patients mitigate the costs of hospital visits. Currently, Cairo residents can walk into pharmacies and be administered shots for as little as 5 to 10 EGP.
Nonetheless, attitudes of leniency regarding administering shots differ across Egypt’s governorates: pharmacies in Upper Egypt are more stringent about the practice than their Delta counterpart.
However, following the deaths in October, the practice has been halted in wake of potential prosecution.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube
RSS