Algeria to launch a digital platform to improve pharmacy management

The government of Algeria has adopted a pharmaceutical and industrial policy aimed at making this sector a strategic pillar of the economy, capable of generating wealth. To that end, it embarked on implementing several initiatives.

One of those initiatives is a digital platform dedicated to managing community pharmacies nationwide. Announced during the opening ceremony of the 17th national symposium of the Algerian National Union of Community Pharmacists (SNAPO) by the country's Health Minister, Abdelhak Saihi, the platform will be launched in the coming months to "establish a new, modern, efficient, and transparent mode of managing all aspects related to community pharmacies, thus contributing to the prevention of self-medication and the control of the traceability of psychotropic drugs, while anticipating shortages and stockouts of pharmaceutical products."

The platform's development is being supervised by a committee that includes the General Directorate of Pharmacy and Equipment of the Ministry of Health, the Order of Pharmacists, and SNAPO (Syndicat National des Pharmaciens d'Officine). The initiative is part of the Health Sector Digitization Strategy, which aims to digitize all its aspects, including pharmacy management.

The platform will act as a dashboard for managing pharmacy activities across Algeria, facilitating the digital management of drug availability, duty rosters, and the traceability of psychotropics and antibiotics. It will help anticipate shortages and stockouts of pharmaceutical products, this ensuring better access to medications for the population. Furthermore, the platform will also enable authorities to identify pharmacists who are practicing unlawfully.

According to the latest figures from SNAPO, there are currently 12,500 community pharmacies distributed across the country, equating to one pharmacy per 3,000 inhabitants.