Pharmacy customers

Pharmacies in Sweden

Most people will at some point in their lives need to purchase and use medicinal products. In Sweden, it is öppenvårdsapotek (dispensing pharmacies) which supply medicinal products to the general public.

The Swedish MPA must have issued a licence for a pharmacy before it can open.

Some of the most fundamental tasks that pharmacies have in our society are as follows:

• to make medicinal products available and supply them;
• to offer to substitute the prescribed medicine (as written on the prescription) with the equivalent medicine that has the lowest price;
• to provide information and advice about medicines;
• to receive defective medicines and report the complaints to the pharmaceutical company;
• to receive pharmaceutical waste from households;
• to issue Schengen certificates.

Access to medicines

One fundamental task undertaken by pharmacies is giving consumers access to medicines and other prescribed  products  as soon as possible.

Although there is no rule requiring pharmacies to keep all medicines in stock, there is a ‘24‍-‍hour rule’ for pharmacies and wholesalers, which means that any order placed with a pharmacy before 16.00 must be ordered by the pharmacy so that it can reach the customer by 16.00 on the next working day. This time of day is chosen for practical reasons, i.e. to make it possible for the pharmacies and the wholesalers supplying the pharmacies to meet the requirement.

If a pharmacy is unable to supply medicines or other prescribed products immediately, it has a duty to inform the customer which other pharmacy  has  the medicines or other prescribed product in stock.

Information and advice on medicines

Pharmacies must endeavour to ensure safe and successful use of medicines by providing expert information and individual advice about the medicine. This is done by staffing the pharmacy with pharmacists who have the competency and experience that will enable them to provide the advice that the general public requires.

Complaints about defective medicines

If you suspect or discover that your medicine has a defect, you can take it to any pharmacy and submit a complaint for it. The pharmacy must ensure that information about the defect is sent to the responsible pharmaceutical company. The pharmaceutical company is responsible for further investigation of any quality issues and to work out whether any improvements are needed for the product.

More about the complaints process

Household pharmaceutical waste

Pharmacies have a duty to receive and deal with pharmaceutical waste from private households. The term ‘pharmaceutical waste’ refers, for example, to medicines that have passed their expiry date or which you no longer use. The pharmacy is, however, not required to accept hazardous waste such as syringes and needles. Although certain pharmacies may have an agreement with the municipality regarding handling of these products. You can ask the pharmacy staff about the situation in your municipality.

When to hand over pharmaceutical waste to the pharmacy

• Leftover medicines are not always visible. Used plasters, tubes of ointment and inhalers may all contain remains of medicinal products, for example. If making a decision in this respect is difficult, the packaging should be handed over to the pharmacy. The package leaflet has information about how to discard medicine.
• It is okay to remove blisters from their carton and give blisters with tablets remaining to the pharmacy. Empty cartons or empty blisters are to be disposed of according to standard guidelines for sorting household waste.