Purchasing medication with a foreign prescription

You can buy prescription medicines in Finland 

• with a European ePrescription issued in 

  • Estonia 
  • Croatia 
  • Portugal
  • Poland 
  • Spain
• with a paper prescription issued in an EU or EEA country or in Switzerland.
  • Learn more about using pharmacy services with a paper prescription: Using a foreign prescription in Finland (EU-terveydenhoito.fi).

You can buy medicines with a foreign prescription at any pharmacy in Finland. 

In the future, more countries will begin to use the European ePrescription. 

Learn how your data are processed when you buy medicines with a foreign electronic prescription at a Finnish pharmacy:

• Information on cross-border electronic prescriptions in Finland (pdf, in English)
• Teave piiriüleste digiretseptide kohta Soomes (pdf, in Estonian)
• Informacije o prekograničnim elektroničkim receptima u Finskoj (pdf, in Croatian)
• Informações sobre as receitas eletrónicas transfronteiriças na Finlândia (pdf, in Portuguese)
• Informacje na temat transgranicznych recept elektronicznych w Finlandii (pdf, in Polish)
• Información sobre las recetas electrónicas transfronterizas en Finlandia (pdf, in Spanish)

Using pharmacy services in Finland 

Give your consent before using pharmacy service

The consent policies for electronic prescriptions vary from country to country. If your country requires consent for your prescription data to be disclosed to pharmacies in another country, please give your consent before visiting a Finnish pharmacy.

At the pharmacy 

If you wish to purchase medication with a foreign electronic prescription, you must go to the pharmacy in person. Take your passport or photo ID card with you to the pharmacy. In addition, different countries may have other requirements for dispensing the medicine. Please check this information with the authorities of the country where your prescription was issued. 

You can also buy prescription medicines with a paper prescription issued in another EU or EEA country or Switzerland. Learn more about using pharmacy services with a paper prescription: Using a foreign prescription in Finland (eu-terveydenhoito.fi).

Acting on behalf of another person 

As a rule, you can act on behalf of a minor with a European ePrescription. In this case, the child must accompany you to the pharmacy. However, there are country-specific differences in the transfer of prescription data to Finland for a minor. 

It is not possible to act on behalf of an adult.

Restrictions on using pharmacy services in Finland

You can use your foreign prescription to buy medicine in Finland if:

• the prescription meets the requirements of Finnish legislation
• the medicine has a marketing authorisation in Finland.

You cannot buy the following medicines in Finland:

• narcotics 
• certain medicines that are central nervous system agents 
• medicines prepared at the pharmacy 
• packages that contain several different preparations. 

Please note that

• your country of origin may also have restricted the purchase of other medicines abroad 
• the range of medicines in Finland may be different from the country where the prescription was issued. You can check the medicines available for purchase in Finland in the Medicinal Products Database (kela.fi).

What should I do if I encounter a problem? 

If you are unable to purchase a medicine at a pharmacy and you need the medicine urgently, please contact the Finnish health care services. 

 Applying for reimbursements for medicine expenses 

For the time being, you cannot receive direct reimbursement for medicines purchased from a Finnish pharmacy using a European ePrescription. Depending on your situation, you may seek reimbursement afterwards from your country of residence or from Kela in Finland. For this purpose, please keep the documents, receipts and protective packaging associated with your medicines.

Frequently asked questions about buying a medicine with a foreign electronic prescription