New Remuneration for Pharmacies in Dependency Treatment Programmes

On 5 June 2026, Ministerial Order No. 248/2026/1 was published, pursuant to Decree-Law No. 62/2016 of 12 September, regulating the terms and conditions governing the remuneration of community pharmacies for the provision of services under treatment programmes for opioid dependence or dependence on other psychoactive substances.

Conditions for Participation

Participation in the programmes is voluntary and depends on acceptance of the terms set out in the invitation to be issued by the Portuguese Institute for Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies (“ICAD, I.P.”). In order to participate, community pharmacies must cumulatively:

comply with the structural, safety and operational requirements laid down in the legislation applicable to the practice of pharmaceutical activity and to the dispensing and administration of medicines subject to special control;
have legally qualified pharmacists with appropriate training for the provision of the services covered by the programmes;
ensure the recording, processing and transmission of beneficiaries’ health information through the information systems defined by ICAD, I.P., in accordance with the legal framework on personal data protection and the duty of professional secrecy.

Covered Services

The treatment programmes for dependence include, in particular:

the dispensing and supervised administration of opioids or other psychoactive substances, in accordance with the prescribed therapeutic regime;
continuous monitoring of therapeutic adherence and early detection of adverse reactions or other relevant clinical events;
collaboration in the collection of information for the clinical and scientific evaluation of the programmes;
electronic recording of administrations, dispensing acts and any clinical incidents through the GMet Farma Platform.

Remuneration

Participating pharmacies will be remunerated in the amount of €30.00 per month for each beneficiary monitored, which is exempt from VAT under Article 9 of the VAT Code.

Practical Impact

The Ministerial Order applies immediately to legally authorised community pharmacies wishing to join the treatment programmes. These pharmacies should verify compliance with the participation requirements, particularly regarding pharmacist training and integration into ICAD, I.P.’s information systems, while awaiting the formal invitation to participate.

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