The Ministry of Health (MOH) has launched today (Sunday) a supervisory campaign to ensure compliance with the decision not to dispense antibiotics without a prescription on all pharmacies in the Kingdom, stressing that doctor shall recommend in writing to repeat the recipe when needed, with a copy retained by the patient. Also, the pharmacist may dispense an alternative drug. MOH called upon everyone to report any violation through the (937) service center.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) has warned against selling antibiotics without prescriptions and highlighted the importance of abiding by the provisions of the Executive Regulations of Health Practice Law which prohibits the pharmacist from dispensing any drug without a prescription issued by a doctor with a license to practice in the Kingdom.
Through an awareness campaign on its social media pages, MOH stated that violators will face legal actions which include a fine of up to 100 thousand riyals, abolition of the license and imprisonment for up to six months, where taking over-the-counter antibiotics poses a great risk for society and affects public health.
It is noteworthy that MOH is organizing several awareness-raising and educational activities about antibiotics with the aim to promote awareness among all society members and health practitioners about the importance of rationalizing antibiotic use by conducting extensive awareness-raising activities at health facilities and malls across regions.