Is a foreign prescription valid in france?

WE LOOK AT HOW PRESCRIPTIONS FROM EU AND NON-EU COUNTRIES ARE TREATED IN FRENCH PHARMACIES READER QUESTION: IS IT POSSIBLE TO SHOW A FOREIGN PRESCRIPTION IN A PHARMACY IN FRANCE? WE WILL BE

HERE IN OUR SECOND HOME FOR SEVERAL WEEKS AND I DID NOT BRING ENOUGH MEDICATION. It depends which country you are coming from. A prescription delivered by a doctor in one EU country is valid

in all EU countries. A pharmacist cannot refuse to provide the medication, unless they have legitimate doubts as to the authenticity or intelligibility of the prescription, or the capacity

of the healthcare professional who wrote it. However, the medicine might not be available or might have another name. READ MORE: HOW LONG ARE MEDICINE PRESCRIPTIONS VALID IN FRANCE?

PHARMACIST WILL USE THEIR JUDGEMENT A pharmacist can also provide medication based on a prescription from a doctor from outside the EU, but this is not an obligation. The pharmacist will

have to decide whether or not the prescription seems authentic, said Philippe Besset, president of the Fédération des Syndicats Pharmaceutiques de France. “There is no database or other way

of telling if they are a real doctor, apart from experience and expertise,” he said. “In any case, the products cannot be reimbursed, even if the patient lives in France and has healthcare

rights here.” He added: “In 30 years in Occitanie, where there are lots of British people, for example, I have never been presented with an English prescription.” READ MORE: HOW ARE YOU

REIMBURSED FOR YOUR MEDICINES IN FRANCE? FRENCH DOCTOR CAN REWRITE PRESCRIPTION If you are visiting France and require medicine, it is better to have the prescription re-written by a French

doctor, Mr Besset said. A GP visit will cost €25. This may be 70% reimbursed if you have an Ehic or Ghic card and the prescription cannot reasonably wait until you are home. RELATED ARTICLES

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