Overview
- The Ministry of Health published Real Decreto 468/2026 in the BOE on Thursday, formally starting a phased removal of the small cardboard cupón precinto used for SNS-funded medicines.
- The new process replaces the analogue coupon with the Unique Identifier already used by SEVeM, a code that records product, serial number, lot and expiry to confirm a pack’s authenticity.
- Sanidad has regulated a central Nodo SNSFarma to handle checks and recipe matching while applying an anonymization step so patient names and health details are not shared.
- The Consejo General de Colegios Farmacéuticos welcomed the change and said it will cut the yearly handling of about 1.1 billion coupons and free pharmacists to spend more time on patient care.
- Rollout will be gradual, with both paper and digital checks coexisting while regional health services and pharmacies adapt their dispensing systems and technical connections.