MinSalud Wants More Pharmacy Managers in the Health System, But There Are Fears

Labor and employment attorney Diego Acevedo was interviewed by El Espectador about a proposal from Colombia's Health Ministry (MinSalud) to regulate pharmacy managers in the country. These entities play a crucial role in dispensing medicine, but until now they have not had regulation defining their functions, working conditions or scope. MinSalud's proposal seeks to identify what pharmacy managers are and what distinguishes them from a logistics operator, as well as establish financial, operational, administrative, and technological and scientific requirements with which they must comply to be recorded in an official registry of managers and contract with health promotion entities (EPS) and other actors in the health system. Mr. Acevedo expressed concerns about the treatment of natural persons, who will generally be exempt from these requirements.

"The defined parameters will allow the entry of managers without prior experience in the sector. The regulation opens the door to new actors, including natural persons, which could incentivize competition but also implies risks," he said. "These new managers could lack the specialization, infrastructure and organization necessary to guarantee a quality service, which could translate to gaps in management and affect patients in terms of opportunity and access to care."

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