The classification of a medicine as prescription or non-prescription has a direct impact on patient safety, the accessibility of medicinal products and the management of healthcare expenditure.

Decisions on prescription status are made by national health authorities, and supply conditions vary widely across countries due to differing interpretations of classification criteria and the lack of harmonisation in important additional classification criteria. This lack of harmonisation means that patients in different countries may face very different conditions when trying to obtain the same medicine.

To address this, the Committee of Experts on the Classification of Medicines as Regards their Supply (CD-P-PH/PHO) issues recommendations on the classification of medicines. In 2025, the committee introduced a new type of assessment, outlined in the Guidelines on key considerations in issuing recommendations on the classification of active substances as regards their supply (prescription and non-prescription status). These guidelines are intended to assist stakeholders involved in determining  whether a medicinal product is suitable for prescription or non-prescription status.

This webinar will:

• introduce the new CD-P-PH/PHO assessment approach to issuing recommendations on the classification of medicines as prescription or non-prescription;  
• explain the rationale behind the committee’s recommendations;  
• walk the participants through the two-stage assessment;   
• show how the CD-P-PH/PHO classification guidelines can be used at national level, incorporating experience from Portugal;    
• explain how medicines are reclassified, i.e. how their supply status is modified;
• describe the reclassification process in the United Kingdom, a Council of Europe member state;  
• highlight the importance of harmonising the supply status of medicines.

The webinar will conclude with a live Q&A session, offering participants the possibility to engage with experts and discuss related topics. 

The webinar will take place on 3 March 2026, from 10:00 to 12:00 (CET, Paris, France).

This webinar will be of interest to health authorities and policy makers, the pharmaceutical industry, pharmacists, physicians and other prescribers, patients and academia (pharmacy, medicine, etc.).

This webinar is free of charge.

After registration you will receive an invitation telling you how to access the webinar and how to test the system beforehand. On the day of the webinar, click on the link in the registration confirmation email.

You can also check your system’s compatibility automatically. 

REGISTER NOW

Places are limited, so sign up today! 

Each registered participant will receive a copy of the presentation slides and the link to the webinar recording which they can refer back to if needed in the future.