The company Alza has announced a pilot service in which prescription medicines are to be delivered to AlzaBox pickup lockers on the basis of a patient's power of attorney; the Ministry of Health considers it impermissible.
The company Alza announced in a press release on 26 October 2026 a pilot service for delivering prescription medicines to its AlzaBox pickup lockers. The service is to be available at first to a selected group of customers in Prague and its surroundings and to use more than 700 lockers. According to the Czech News Agency, the company did not state a launch date.[1]
How the service is meant to work
In the mobile app the customer enters the identifier of the electronic prescription and gives Alza a power of attorney to collect the medicine at a pharmacy and deliver it to a locker. A pharmacist assesses whether the procedure is suitable, so according to an Alza spokeswoman it will not automatically cover all medicines or all prescriptions. The medicine is to be dispensed by a pharmacist at the pharmacy in the same way as in ordinary dispensing, and the company calls the service assisted dispensing.[1]
The position of the Ministry of Health
The Ministry of Health told the Czech News Agency that the service has the features of mail-order dispensing of prescription medicines, which the law does not yet permit. The minister, Adam Vojtěch (for ANO), said these rules cannot be circumvented by a power of attorney or by calling the service something else. The company, by contrast, maintains that assisted dispensing complies with the legislation in force, that in its view it is not classic mail-order dispensing, and that it is ready to hold an expert debate.[1]
Under the Medicines Act, only a non-prescription medicine may be the subject of mail-order dispensing, and a violation carries a fine of up to two million crowns. If the State Institute for Drug Control proves a violation of the law during an inspection, it may impose sanctions.[1] The ministry has prepared an amendment that is meant to allow mail-order dispensing of prescription medicines under set conditions; it is in the internal comment procedure, which ends on 30 October 2026. The Czech Chamber of Pharmacists criticises mail-order dispensing, citing foreign experience with pharmacy closures and a higher risk of undetected medication errors.[1]
Chronology
- — The company Alza announced a pilot service delivering prescription medicines to its AlzaBox pick-up boxes in Prague and the surrounding area on the basis of the patient's power of attorney; the Ministry of Health said that the law does not yet allow mail-order dispensing of prescription medicines, while Alza maintains that the service complies with the law. ČTK / České noviny
Sources
- ČTK / České noviny — 26 October 2026