Czech prescribing reform widens primary-care access

The Czech Republic has extended an established primary-care reform by allowing general practitioners to prescribe a large group of reimbursed medicines previously restricted to ambulatory specialists. The change took effect on 1 July and applies to more than 1,200 products carrying the ‘E’ prescribing restriction.

The State Institute for Drug Control (Státní ústav pro kontrolu léčiv, SÚKL) confirmed on 10 July that GPs, paediatric GPs and paediatricians may now prescribe these medicines for reimbursement where the product information does not itself require specialist use. The change extends a similar relaxation introduced for medicines carrying the less restrictive ‘L’ designation in July 2024.

The Ministry of Health (Ministerstvo zdravotnictví, MZ) says the previous rules required many stable patients to revisit specialists solely to obtain repeat prescriptions. The reform is intended to move this routine prescribing into primary care, leaving specialist capacity for diagnosis, treatment initiation, complex cases and clinical monitoring.

The authorities have also created a new ‘F’ category for medicines where specialist prescribing remains clinically necessary. Reimbursement eligibility and the eligible patient population are unchanged.

MZ says it therefore does not expect the measure itself to increase health-insurance expenditure. The policy nevertheless removes a practical constraint on prescribing for more than one eighth of reimbursed medicines used in ambulatory care. It reflects a willingness to widen access through primary care where specialist involvement adds little clinical value, while retaining targeted restrictions where specialist oversight remains necessary.

Source: State Institute for Drug Control
Link: Změny v předepisování hrazených léčivých přípravků s preskripčním omezením „L“ a „E“ (Changes in prescribing reimbursed medicines with ‘L’ and ‘E’ prescribing restrictions)
Date: 10 July 2026

Source: Ministry of Health
Link: Více než 1 200 léků nově u praktického lékaře. Ministerstvo zdravotnictví usnadňuje pacientům přístup k léčbě(More than 1,200 medicines newly available from GPs. The Ministry of Health facilitates patient access to treatment)
Date: 30 June 2026