The State Institute for Drug Control (Státní ústav pro kontrolu léčiv) is a

Czech government The Government of the Czech Republic ( cz, Vláda České republiky) exercises executive power in the Czech Republic. The members of the government are the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic (Chairman of the Government), the deputy prime min ...

agency responsible for regulation of the safe production of pharmaceuticals in the country, clinical evaluation of medicines and for monitoring the advertising and marketing of both medicines and medical devices. Its powers stem from the Act on Public Health

Insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

(Act No. 48/1997 Coll.). Only part of its operating costs are directly funded. It is largely self-financing through charges for its services. The SÚKL sets maximum ex-factory prices for

reimbursement Reimbursement is the act of compensating someone for an out-of-pocket expense by giving them an amount of money equal to what was spent. Companies, governments and nonprofit organizations may compensate their employees or officers for necessary ...

based on 195 reference groups of therapeutically interchangeable products of similar clinical efficacy. More than 20% of the health budget is spent on medication and medical devices. From January 2019 it took responsibility for regulating the reimbursement of consumer medical devices prescribed as part of outpatient care. It allocates codes and names of medications for use in the

electronic prescribing Electronic prescription (e-prescribing or e-Rx) is the computer-based electronic generation, transmission, and filling of a medical prescription, taking the place of paper and faxed prescriptions. E-prescribing allows a physician, physician assist ...

system. It has been criticised by KOPAC, the Patient Association for Cannabis Treatment, for failing to ensure a supply of Czech

medical cannabis Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions ...

so that patients have to pay inflated prices for imported supplies.

References

{{authority control Pharmacy organizations Medical and health organizations based in the Czech Republic National agencies for drug regulation