Have you already wondered how to buy a prescription drug abroad? Here's what anyone who wants to help themselves or a relative needs to know.
- Forget buying over-the-counter medicine. In Europe, everything is very strict with this. Vitamins and some dietary supplements can still be obtained, but serious drugs are not for anything. If we go abroad for medicines, then for something really rare and of high quality.
Unfortunately, the Russian recipe won't come in handy. They are not accepted in Finland, even with translation. The procedure is that the prescription must be uploaded by a Finnish doctor into a single database for pharmacies. It turns out that you will have to visit a local doctor. - Fortunately, Finnish customs officials are not interested in your medicines. With one exception - they should not contain narcotic and psychotropic substances.
In this case, you will have to confirm the right to purchase and export the medicine, that is, provide a prescription and fill out a declaration.
- But Russian customs officers can find fault and demand a recipe. They usually skip single packs of drugs for personal use if there is no import restriction or prohibition. Take with you, just in case, a Russian recipe and a medical history in Russian.
Do not carry a lot of packages, otherwise the customs officials will think that the drugs are for sale. They do not welcome the intermediary business and will willingly confiscate a batch of drugs if there are no permits for them. It must be documented that the imported amount of drugs is necessary for you for long-term use. Here again you will need a prescription and a medical card.- If you are found to have a prescription medication without a prescription, there is a chance that you will be subject to penalties of several thousand rubles or more.
Do not carry a lot of packages, otherwise the customs officials will think that the drugs are for sale. They do not welcome the intermediary business and will willingly confiscate a batch of drugs if there are no permits for them. It must be documented that the imported amount of drugs is necessary for you for long-term use. Here again you will need a prescription and a medical card.
If the drug is not registered in Russia, the punishment will hit the wallet harder - be prepared to pay the state up to 100 thousand rubles. The transportation of especially expensive drugs (over 100,000 rubles) threatens with criminal prosecution for illegal sale.
There are difficulties, as you can see. But there are many reasons to buy medicine in Finland. For example, many medicines in the Russian Federation are difficult to find or they have certain disadvantages in terms of effectiveness. Patients with serious illnesses, such as cancer, are especially scrupulous about the choice of drugs.
Many do not trust Russian drugs, rightly doubting the quality of production and control. The permanent Russian crisis is also making its own contribution: medicines, that is, they are not available.
But, returning to point 1: how do you get a prescription in Finland without spending time and money on a visit to the doctor?
How to issue a prescription online
There is a service "Recipes for Finnish and European pharmacies online". This is an official and convenient service from the MedFIN Medical Center in Helsinki.
To use the service, you need to create a personal account and fill out a special form on the website.
Then send a prescription or recommendation from a Russian doctor and go through an online consultation with a Finnish doctor. If everything is in order and you are indeed eligible for a prescription drug, then the Finnish (and essentially European) prescription will be emailed to you.
One consultation gives the right to receive up to 3 prescriptions for different drugs.
As a rule, everything will take no more than three business days. If everything needs to be done faster, they may ask for a surcharge for urgency.
The price of the service is 48 euros for Finnish prescriptions and 60 euros for an international prescription for pharmacies in other EU countries.
You need to pay only after the prescription has been confirmed by a Finnish doctor. Payment is made by card in your personal account on the MedFIN website.
The electronic prescription goes to the Finnish state database, to which all pharmacies in the country are connected. And a PDF file appears in your personal account, which can be downloaded, printed and presented at the pharmacy.
The drug can be bought by a patient whose name is on the prescription, as well as a relative, friend or colleague.
It remains to submit an application on the site.
