Pharmacists, as healthcare professionals, have a very important role to play in the medicines verification system because; they are, by the nature of their profession, the final link in the distribution chain, before a medicinal product reaches its final recipient, the patient.

The pharmacist, when selling the medicinal product, will visibly examine whether the package has been tampered with. Then, using a 2D barcode reader and dedicated software to be installed on the pharmacy’s computer, decommissioning of the unique code will be performed, before delivering the drug to the patient. By implementing this procedure, which lasts only a few milliseconds, the medicinal product will be verified as authentic before, it is dispensed to the patient. The above procedure makes the pharmacy the most suitable location in the distribution chain for the detection of falsified drugs.

Pharmacies in Cyprus should adapt their computerized systems prior to the date of application of the Regulation (9 February 2017) by linking them with the repository of the Cyprus Medicines Verification System.

The participation of pharmacies in the CyMVS is free and no annual fees will be implemented.