The Russian Ministry of Health has prepared a draft resolution on launching a pilot project that would allow prescription medicines to be dispensed using electronic prescriptions regardless of the region where the prescriptions were issued. The pilot is proposed to run from December 1, 2026, to November 30, 2027. LLC “Operator-CRPT” is proposed as the project’s technical operator.
Under the proposed model, patients will be able to obtain prescription medicines in any region of Russia, regardless of where the prescription was issued. The pilot will not cover subsidized medicines, medicines subject to quantitative accounting, or narcotic and psychotropic drugs.
The pilot will also examine how various digital systems interact, including the Unified State Health Information System (USHIS), the State Information System for Monitoring the Movement of Medicines (GIS MDLP), regional healthcare information systems, medical information systems, and pharmaceutical organizations’ IT systems. By February 12, 2027, the Ministry of Health, together with Roszdravnadzor and CRPT, is expected to prepare guidelines setting out data exchange procedures between participants and technical requirements for system integration.
CRPT’s role in the new model has prompted mixed reactions from industry stakeholders. Some experts consider the use of GIS MDLP a logical approach, as pharmacies already work with this system. Others highlight potential risks related to concentrating key functions within a single operator and the possible change in USHIS’s role as the unified digital framework of the healthcare system.
Alexander Gorokhov, an analyst, GR and Risk at Baikal Lobridge, commented for Pharmaceutical Bulletin on the potential risks and practical challenges associated with implementing the new model:
Under the proposed model, patients will be able to obtain prescription medicines in any region of Russia, regardless of where the prescription was issued. The pilot will not cover subsidized medicines, medicines subject to quantitative accounting, or narcotic and psychotropic drugs.
The pilot will also examine how various digital systems interact, including the Unified State Health Information System (USHIS), the State Information System for Monitoring the Movement of Medicines (GIS MDLP), regional healthcare information systems, medical information systems, and pharmaceutical organizations’ IT systems. By February 12, 2027, the Ministry of Health, together with Roszdravnadzor and CRPT, is expected to prepare guidelines setting out data exchange procedures between participants and technical requirements for system integration.
CRPT’s role in the new model has prompted mixed reactions from industry stakeholders. Some experts consider the use of GIS MDLP a logical approach, as pharmacies already work with this system. Others highlight potential risks related to concentrating key functions within a single operator and the possible change in USHIS’s role as the unified digital framework of the healthcare system.
Alexander Gorokhov, an analyst, GR and Risk at Baikal Lobridge, commented for Pharmaceutical Bulletin on the potential risks and practical challenges associated with implementing the new model:
“From the pharmacy sector’s perspective, the pilot project brings not only new opportunities but also additional requirements. The main challenge will be ensuring technical integration of GIS MDLP data with USHIS, regional healthcare information systems, and medical information systems to ensure the new model operates correctly. This may require software updates and additional training for pharmacy employees. Another potential risk is an increase in administrative workload from the Federal Tax Service, which is explicitly named as a participant in the pilot project aimed at improving the quality of fiscal receipt data.”
Alexander Gorokhov also draws attention to the accessibility of the new mechanism for patients. The draft project envisages that electronic prescriptions will be presented through the Gosuslugi mobile application; however, this option may not be available to all users. While legislation provides for online and offline mechanisms to verify GIS MDLP data, the practical implementation of the new functionality may face challenges once the systems are integrated.
According to the expert, the project does not envisage direct connection of pharmacies to USHIS. Medical organizations will create, record, and process electronic prescriptions through regional healthcare information systems or medical information systems, while pharmacies will submit information on dispensed medicines to GIS MDLP.
According to the expert, the project does not envisage direct connection of pharmacies to USHIS. Medical organizations will create, record, and process electronic prescriptions through regional healthcare information systems or medical information systems, while pharmacies will submit information on dispensed medicines to GIS MDLP.
“As a result, pharmacies will not be directly connected to USHIS. However, under the proposed model, the Ministry of Health’s information systems will operate within a unified digital framework,” Alexander Gorokhov notes.
At the same time, USHIS will continue to play an important role for regional healthcare organizations and in protecting patients’ personal data, as patient information will not be transferred to GIS MDLP as part of the pilot project.
“However, since a significant part of the pilot is implemented outside the direct USHIS framework, this may indicate that the system may still lack the infrastructure needed to support projects of this scale. If, following the pilot, responsibility for the operation of the electronic prescription mechanism for prescription medicines is assigned to GIS MDLP, this could indicate a gradual erosion of USHIS’s role as the unified digital framework of the healthcare system,” the expert believes.
Read more in the Pharmaceutical Bulletin article.
