Website of a pharmacy
The delivery of medicinal products in pharmacy remains the basic principle.
An exemption, however, is provided (Article 29 of the Royal Decree of 21/01/2009 (French version) 
concerning instructions for pharmacists) and allows, only for pharmacies for the public in Belgium, to sell online, under very strict conditions, medicinal products for human use not subject to medical prescription and some medical devices.
The Royal Decree of 21/01/2009 (French version) includes a series of measures to ensure that the rules for delivery in pharmacies are also applied in the providing of medicinal products ordered on internet. This will take place from the pharmacy, under the complete responsibility of the pharmacist and must follow the rules of good officinal practice.
Provisions are also made to ensure that the offer for sale, ordering, packaging and providing are organized in accordance with law for the protection of patient privacy.
The website should also be designed to encourage the rational use of medicinal products and medical devices, and thus must contain a number of information to their proper use.
Among these mentions must include the information contained in the package leaflet of medicinal products for human use, offered for sale on the site, that is to say, all medicinal products for human use not subject to prescription marketed in Belgium.
The FAMHP publish on its website notices and Summaries of Product Characteristics (SPC) of all medicinal products approved and marketed in Belgium.
Pharmacists can register or sign in (after registration) here to get the URL for establishing a direct access to each of these documents in the website of their pharmacy.
Circular 536 (French version) (PDF, 588.33 Kb) drew the attention of pharmacists on essentials related to this problem.
This circular reminds the obligation for pharmacists who hold a pharmacy where a system of offering for sale of medicinal products or medical devices is established via the Internet, to notify its existence to FAMHP and to the College of pharmacists via the appropriate form (PDF, 102.53 Kb) within one month of going online.
The form must be completed in advance electronically (Adobe Acrobat Reader, preferably version 7.0 or higher) and subsequently printed. Forms completed by hand will not be accepted!
The FAMHP recommends mentioning on the site of a pharmacy a clear link to the site of the FAMHP.
The list of the websites notified (PDF, 60.86 Kb)at the FAMHP by pharmacies authorised in Belgium is established and updated after receiving new notifications.
The FAMHP draws attention to the potential health risks associated with online shopping of medicinal products through illegal channels. The FAMHP reminds people to purchase their medicinal products from an authorized pharmacy in Belgium, possibly through the Internet for medicinal products not subject to prescription, on the site created by the pharmacy.