The Director of the Egyptian Center for Drug Studies, Dr. Ali Abdullah, explained that the Egyptian Medicines Authority’s decision to replace the paper leaflet on drug packages with an electronic one via the barcode on the packages, and this will help in tracking and limiting the circulation of counterfeit and adulterated products that are smuggled from abroad to the market.
The electronic leaflet is environmentally friendly and reduces counterfeit medicines
Abdullah pointed out that the use of electronic leaflets on drug packages is an environmentally friendly means. This is to reduce the use of ink and paper that pollute the environment, pointing out that the electronic bulletins are clear and easy to read, as well as to reduce the number of errors that lead to withdrawing the drug from the market to change the leaflet, as happened in some companies in the past, adding that these electronic bulletins will save companies the cost of printing. On paper, in addition to reducing the high prices of some drugs in the market to save some production expenses.
For his part, Professor of Pharmaceutical Economics, Dr. Islam Annan, indicated that electronic brochures are used by many countries, including India, and work to contribute significantly to the follow-up of medicines in the Egyptian market, and to reduce the circulation of counterfeit and smuggled drug packages from abroad, pointing out The use of these leaflets will reduce the financial cost spent on paper printing, which costs about 25 piasters, and thus the production of one million medicine boxes will save the company EGP 250,000 from printing the paper leaflet.
Anan pointed out that the electronic bulletin can be customized in the future for each patient, by dispensing each medication to the patient with its own doses, method of use and duration of intake, especially in hospitals and under the comprehensive health insurance system, which is a step towards digitizing the health and pharmaceutical sector.
In a related context, the Egyptian Medicines Authority revealed, earlier, the start of the second phase of the electronic bulletin project and the gradual removal of paper bulletins from packages, starting in 2023, and replacing them with electronic bulletins.