Introduction
The duties and responsibilities of pharmacists under Turkish law are regulated in a comprehensive legal framework that treats pharmacy practice as a healthcare service rather than a purely commercial activity. A pharmacist in Turkey is not merely a seller of medicines. The pharmacist is a licensed healthcare professional who is legally responsible for the safe, effective, ethical and lawful supply of medicines and health-related products.
Turkish pharmacy law places pharmacists at the center of medicine safety. Pharmacists are expected to check prescriptions, provide patient counseling, ensure rational drug use, maintain proper records, protect patient privacy, comply with pharmacovigilance rules, store medicines properly, supervise pharmacy personnel and cooperate with public authorities in extraordinary circumstances. These obligations arise primarily from Law No. 6197 on Pharmacists and Pharmacies and the Regulation on Pharmacists and Pharmacies.
Law No. 6197 defines pharmacy as activities involving the preparation, presentation, analysis, safety monitoring, quality assurance and patient information processes relating to medicines and pharmaceutical products. The Regulation on Pharmacists and Pharmacies expressly states that its purpose is to determine pharmacists’ duties, powers and responsibilities and to regulate pharmacy services, pharmacy opening, operation, relocation, transfer and closure procedures.
For pharmacy owners, assistant pharmacists, second pharmacists, foreign investors, healthcare companies and patients, understanding these duties is essential. A breach of pharmacist responsibility may result in administrative sanctions, professional disciplinary action, civil liability, reimbursement disputes, license suspension, pharmacy closure and, in serious cases, criminal consequences.
Legal Framework Governing Pharmacists’ Duties in Turkey
The main legal source governing pharmacists’ duties in Turkey is Law No. 6197 on Pharmacists and Pharmacies. This law sets out who may practice pharmacy, who may open a pharmacy, what restrictions apply to pharmacy ownership, how prescriptions must be handled and how pharmacies are inspected. Law No. 6197 also regulates the responsibility of the pharmacist or responsible manager for medicines, prescriptions, records and inspections.
The second major source is the Regulation on Pharmacists and Pharmacies. This regulation provides detailed rules on pharmacists’ duties, responsibilities, pharmacy services, prescription acceptance, medicine tracking, storage, patient counseling, personnel supervision, records, inspections, closure and pharmacy discipline-related compliance. The regulation defines a pharmacy as a healthcare institution opened under the ownership and responsible management of a pharmacist.
In addition to these sources, pharmacists must also comply with rules issued by the Ministry of Health, the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency, known as TİTCK, the Social Security Institution, known as SGK, the Turkish Pharmacists’ Association, regional chambers of pharmacists and other legislation concerning medicines, medical devices, personal data, consumer protection and public health.
Pharmacist as a Healthcare Professional
The first principle is that pharmacy is a healthcare service. Turkish law does not reduce the pharmacist’s role to commercial sales. The Regulation defines pharmacy as a healthcare service involving the preparation and supply of pharmaceutical products, monitoring of pharmacological effect, safety, effectiveness and cost, quality assurance and patient information regarding medicine-related issues.
This definition has important legal consequences. A pharmacist must act with professional care, scientific knowledge, ethical responsibility and public health awareness. Commercial profit cannot override patient safety. The pharmacist must ensure that medicines are supplied lawfully, appropriately and safely.
Therefore, the pharmacist’s duty is not limited to giving the patient the medicine written on a prescription. The pharmacist must also consider whether the prescription is legally acceptable, whether the product is properly stored, whether the patient needs counseling, whether adverse effects must be monitored and whether any legal restriction applies to the medicine.
Duty to Provide Safe and Effective Medicine Use
One of the most important responsibilities of pharmacists under Turkish law is to help patients use medicines, medical devices and related materials safely and effectively. The Regulation states that pharmacists must help patients have sufficient knowledge and understanding regarding their medicines, tools used in medicine administration, medical devices and medical materials.
This is the legal foundation of patient counseling in pharmacy practice. A pharmacist should explain how the medicine should be used, when it should be taken, whether it should be taken with food, whether there are important storage requirements, whether the patient should avoid certain interactions and what basic warnings should be considered.
This duty is especially important for elderly patients, children, pregnant patients, chronic disease patients, patients using multiple medicines and patients using high-risk medicines. If a pharmacist gives medicine without sufficient explanation in a situation where professional counseling is required, this may create legal responsibility.
Duty to Ensure Correct and Safe Dispensing
Turkish pharmacy law requires pharmacists to ensure that medicine supply is accurate, prescription-compliant, appropriate for the patient’s needs and safe. The Regulation expressly states that pharmacists must ensure that the presentation of medicines is error-free, consistent with the purpose of the prescription, compatible with the patient’s needs and safe.
This responsibility includes checking the prescription, verifying the medicine, confirming dosage form, reviewing the patient’s needs and ensuring that the correct product is supplied. Pharmacists must also be careful when medicines have similar names, similar packaging, different strengths or special storage requirements.
In practice, dispensing errors may result in serious patient harm. If a wrong medicine, wrong dose, expired product, improperly stored medicine or inappropriate substitute is supplied, the pharmacist may face civil liability and administrative consequences. The pharmacy’s records, prescription documents and electronic entries may become key evidence in such disputes.
Prescription Control Duties
Prescription control is one of the most sensitive responsibilities of pharmacists in Turkey. Law No. 6197 prohibits dispensing prescription-only medicines without a prescription. It also prohibits the wholesale sale of poisonous and potent substances from pharmacies.
The law further provides that prescriptions left at the pharmacy for preparation must be prepared without alteration, and that the responsible manager is directly responsible for errors in medicines prepared in the pharmacy. If the pharmacist suspects a mistake in the prescription, or if the prescription exceeds codex limits without the required confirmation, the pharmacist must contact the treating physician before preparing it.
The Regulation on Pharmacists and Pharmacies also sets rules on acceptable prescriptions. It requires prescriptions to contain patient details, diagnosis, physician information, title, diploma registration number, place of duty and physician signature. It also states that pharmacies may accept only prescriptions written by physicians, dentists, veterinarians and agricultural engineers within their legal authority.
Prohibition on Prescription Collection and Improper Referral
Turkish law is strict about prescription collection, prescription referral and hidden cooperation between pharmacies and healthcare providers. The Regulation states that prescriptions or medicine requests sent to pharmacies through the internet, fax, phone, courier, commission agents or similar methods cannot be accepted, except for legally valid electronic prescriptions and certain prescription groups distributed by chambers of pharmacists.
The Regulation also prohibits pharmacists from entering into open or hidden cooperation with institutions, physicians, healthcare institutions or third parties for the purpose of directing prescriptions to themselves. Pharmacists may not employ couriers, commission agents or similar directing personnel for prescription collection or referral.
This rule protects professional independence and fair competition. A pharmacy must not turn prescription flow into a commercial brokerage system. If a pharmacist receives prescriptions through unlawful referral networks, this may lead to administrative sanctions and disciplinary consequences.
Duties Regarding Controlled, Narcotic and Psychotropic Medicines
Controlled medicines require special care. The Regulation provides that narcotic and psychotropic medicines may be dispensed only when written on special prescriptions, except for electronic prescriptions signed with electronic signature. Such prescriptions are not returned to the patient and a new prescription is required for repeat supply.
The Regulation also states that prescriptions for narcotic and psychotropic medicines are kept at the pharmacy and processed according to rules determined by the institution. For controlled medicines that must normally be supplied by prescription, records must be kept electronically, entered into the medicine tracking system and preserved at the pharmacy.
This creates a high compliance burden. Errors involving controlled medicines may have serious administrative and criminal consequences. Pharmacists should maintain strict internal procedures, separate storage, accurate record-keeping and staff training for these products.
Pharmacovigilance Responsibilities
Pharmacists also have responsibilities regarding pharmacovigilance, meaning the monitoring, recording, evaluation and reporting of adverse effects and medicine safety issues. The Regulation states that pharmacists must fulfill the duties imposed by legislation in pharmacovigilance activities, including systematic monitoring of adverse effects, collecting information, recording, evaluating, archiving, ensuring communication between relevant parties and taking necessary measures to minimize harm caused by human medicinal products.
This responsibility is especially important because pharmacists are often the first healthcare professionals to hear patient complaints about side effects, interactions or unexpected medicine reactions. A pharmacist should take such information seriously, guide the patient appropriately and comply with applicable reporting mechanisms.
Pharmacovigilance is not merely a scientific function; it is also a legal obligation. Failure to detect, record or report serious adverse effects may create regulatory risk, especially where the pharmacist had clear information and failed to act.
Duty to Provide Counseling on Non-Prescription Medicines and Health Products
Pharmacists are also responsible for the safe and rational supply of non-prescription medicines and health-related products. The Regulation states that pharmacists must ensure that non-prescription medicines and all health-related products are supplied in a manner suitable for the patient’s needs, safely and rationally, and that pharmacists must provide counseling in this regard.
This is important because non-prescription products are not risk-free. Painkillers, cold medicines, supplements, herbal products, dermatological products, vitamins and medical devices may create risks if used incorrectly. Patients may combine them with prescription medicines, use them for inappropriate conditions or exceed recommended doses.
A pharmacist must therefore guide patients responsibly. The pharmacist should avoid misleading claims, exaggerated promises and purely commercial recommendations. The duty is to provide rational, safe and legally compliant advice.
Duty to Protect Patient Privacy and Confidentiality
Pharmacists handle sensitive health information. Prescriptions, diagnosis information, medicine history, controlled medicine use, sexual health products, psychiatric medicines and chronic disease treatments may all reveal private personal data.
The Regulation expressly states that pharmacists must act in accordance with professional and ethical conduct, protect the private life and privacy of the patient or beneficiary, promote rational drug use and try to improve the individual’s health and quality of life.
The Regulation also provides that prescriptions left at pharmacies, including prescriptions prepared at the pharmacy, cannot be shown or given as originals or copies to anyone other than the prescribing physician, the patient or the patient’s relative.
In practice, pharmacists must be careful when communicating with family members, employers, insurance companies, public authorities and third parties. Patient information should not be disclosed casually. Privacy breaches may create professional, administrative and personal data protection risks.
Duty to Store Medicines Properly
Medicine storage is a core legal responsibility. The Regulation states that chemical pharmaceutical raw materials, ready-made medicines, vaccines and serums must be stored in accordance with pharmacopoeia characteristics and the storage conditions stated on the package. The pharmacy environment’s temperature and humidity must be suitable for storage conditions.
Cold-chain products are subject to special requirements. The Regulation provides that medicines requiring special storage conditions or cold-chain storage must be accepted, stored and supplied to patients in accordance with those conditions. Pharmacies must have refrigerators for cold-chain medicines and must maintain temperature and humidity monitoring records, early warning systems and calibrated devices.
Improper storage can reduce medicine effectiveness or endanger patients. If a medicine becomes unusable due to incorrect temperature, humidity or handling, the pharmacist may be responsible. Storage compliance is therefore both a healthcare duty and a legal risk management requirement.
Duty to Control Expired and Deteriorated Medicines
The pharmacist must regularly control medicine expiry dates. The Regulation states that the pharmacy owner and responsible manager must regularly check expiry dates, remove deteriorated and expired medicines from sale and store them separately for destruction. It also requires listing expired or unusable medicines and applying to the provincial health directorate for destruction procedures.
This responsibility is directly connected to public health. Selling expired or deteriorated medicines can expose patients to ineffective or unsafe treatment. It may also result in inspection findings, administrative penalties and liability claims.
Law No. 6197 also contains sanction provisions concerning expired, deteriorated, adulterated or impure medicines found in pharmacy-related institutions. Therefore, every pharmacy should have an internal system for expiry date monitoring, quarantine of expired products and documented destruction.
Duty to Use the Medicine Tracking System
Turkish pharmacies must comply with the İlaç Takip Sistemi, the medicine tracking system used for traceability. The Regulation requires pharmacies to use the medicine tracking system and make notifications for human medicinal product purchases, sales, returns to wholesalers, returns to other wholesalers in force majeure or closure situations, pharmacy-to-pharmacy exchanges and destruction of expired or deteriorated medicines.
The Regulation also requires consistency between the buyer recorded in the medicine tracking system and the buyer shown in relevant transaction documents.
This system helps prevent counterfeit medicines, illegal supply chains, reimbursement fraud and stock inconsistencies. A pharmacist must ensure that physical stock, invoices, electronic records and İTS notifications are consistent. Failure to comply may create inspection, SGK and TİTCK-related problems.
Duty to Maintain Pharmacy Records and Registers
Record-keeping is a major legal obligation. Law No. 6197 requires pharmacies to keep a daily prescription register in the prescribed form, with pages approved and sealed by the local health authority, and to preserve these records for five years.
The Regulation further requires that all medicines sold in the pharmacy be recorded electronically and that these records be kept for presentation during inspections. Pharmacies must also keep inspection, personnel and trainee registers obtained from and approved by the relevant chamber of pharmacists.
Records protect both the patient and the pharmacist. In a dispute involving a prescription error, SGK deduction, controlled medicine, expired product, staff issue or inspection, proper records may be decisive. Poor record-keeping can turn a defensible case into a compliance problem.
Duty to Supervise Pharmacy Employees and Trainees
The pharmacy owner and responsible manager are responsible for supervising staff. The Regulation states that pharmacy employees work under the responsibility of the pharmacy responsible manager and that employees must be recorded in the personnel register.
The Regulation also states that the pharmacist owner and responsible manager must assign duties to pharmacy employees and pharmacy faculty trainees, supervise their work and coordinate them.
This is important because a pharmacist cannot avoid responsibility by saying that an employee made the mistake. If a pharmacy technician, assistant or staff member improperly supplies medicine, mishandles a prescription or violates patient privacy, the pharmacist may still face responsibility depending on the circumstances. Proper training, written procedures and supervision are therefore essential.
Duty to Comply with Working Hours and Duty Pharmacy Rules
Pharmacies must comply with working days, opening-closing hours and duty pharmacy lists applicable in their region. The Regulation provides that pharmacies, including those in shopping malls, must comply with the working days and opening-closing hours of their region. Outside working hours and on public holidays, only duty pharmacies may remain open, and non-duty pharmacies cannot operate during duty hours.
Duty pharmacies must provide service according to approved duty and holiday lists. The Regulation further states that duty pharmacies cannot advertise in a manner that causes unfair competition, and that if a night-duty pharmacy keeps its door closed, the owner/responsible manager or second pharmacist must provide service upon application.
These rules ensure access to medicines while preventing unfair competition. Failure to follow duty pharmacy rules may result in administrative and chamber-related consequences.
Duty to Be Present at the Pharmacy
The pharmacist’s physical presence is a key aspect of professional responsibility. The Regulation includes rules concerning the pharmacist’s obligation to be present at the pharmacy and also regulates appointment of a responsible manager in cases of long absence. The system is based on the idea that pharmacy responsibility must be real, not symbolic.
If a pharmacist is away due to illness or other reasons, Law No. 6197 requires notification where the absence exceeds 24 hours, and longer absences may require supervision or closure depending on the circumstances.
This duty is particularly important against nominee ownership or passive investment models. A pharmacy cannot be operated merely by staff while the pharmacist appears only on paper. The pharmacist must maintain genuine professional supervision.
Duty to Comply with Product Sale Restrictions
Pharmacies may sell certain products, but this authority is regulated. The Regulation states that prescription and non-prescription human medicines, TİTCK-licensed traditional herbal medicinal products, homeopathic medicinal products subject to institutional permission, and special medical purpose dietary foods and baby formulas are sold exclusively in pharmacies. The Regulation also lists products that may be sold in pharmacies, including permitted supplements, medical materials, cosmetics and certain health-related products.
The Regulation also prohibits wholesale sales of poisonous and potent substances and medicines from pharmacies. Pharmacy-to-pharmacy medicine exchange is not considered wholesale, but it is limited to pharmacies operating within the same province.
The pharmacist must therefore ensure that the pharmacy sells only legally permitted products and does not engage in unauthorized wholesale or tender activities.
Internet Sales and Digital Restrictions
The Regulation prohibits the internet or electronic sale of medicines and other products listed in the exclusive pharmacy product category. It also states that websites cannot be opened in the name of pharmacy pharmacists or pharmacies.
This is a strict rule with major practical importance. Digital marketing, e-commerce, social media sales, online order forms and website-based pharmacy sales may create serious legal risk. Even if ordinary retail businesses can sell online, pharmacies are subject to special restrictions because medicines are healthcare products requiring professional control.
Pharmacists should therefore review all online activities carefully. Social media content, promotional campaigns, product announcements and online communication should not violate medicine sale and advertising restrictions.
Inspection Duties and Cooperation with Authorities
Pharmacies are subject to inspection. Law No. 6197 states that pharmacies and related pharmaceutical institutions are under the supervision of the Ministry of Health and may be inspected. It also provides that the owner or responsible manager must show all parts of the institution, books, tools, equipment and medicines to authorized inspectors and provide all requested inspection-related information.
The Regulation provides that pharmacies are inspected at least twice per year and whenever necessary. If deficiencies are found, the pharmacist may be given time to remedy them; if deficiencies are not corrected, sanctions may follow, and repeated non-compliance may lead to suspension of the license until the deficiency is remedied.
Inspection readiness should be part of daily pharmacy management. Records, stock, cold-chain monitoring, staff registers, controlled medicines, expired medicines and İTS records should always be inspection-ready.
Professional, Administrative, Civil and Criminal Liability
The duties of pharmacists under Turkish law are enforceable through several types of liability. Administrative liability may arise from violating pharmacy regulations, record-keeping rules, storage obligations, prescription requirements, İTS procedures or inspection rules. Professional disciplinary liability may arise from conduct contrary to pharmacy ethics or chamber rules. Civil liability may arise where a patient suffers damage due to negligent dispensing, wrong medicine supply, privacy breach or inadequate counseling.
Criminal liability may arise in serious cases involving counterfeit medicines, forged prescriptions, unlawful controlled medicine supply, fraud, public health offenses or intentional misconduct. Law No. 6197 also contains specific sanction provisions concerning unauthorized pharmacy practice and improper medicines.
For this reason, pharmacists should treat compliance as a permanent legal obligation, not as a matter checked only during inspections.
Practical Compliance Checklist for Pharmacists in Turkey
A pharmacist operating in Turkey should regularly check whether the pharmacy complies with key legal duties. Prescriptions should be reviewed properly. Prescription-only medicines should not be supplied without valid prescriptions. Patient counseling should be provided where necessary. Cold-chain products should be monitored and documented. Expired medicines should be separated and destroyed through proper procedures. İTS records, invoices and physical stock should be consistent. Personnel records should be complete. Controlled medicine records should be accurate. Patient privacy should be protected. Duty pharmacy rules should be followed. Inspection documents should be ready.
A pharmacy should also have internal procedures for staff training, adverse effect reporting, product recalls, SGK prescription review, medicine returns, electronic records, emergency supply, complaints and communication with public authorities.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the main duties of pharmacists in Turkey?
The main duties include safe medicine dispensing, prescription control, patient counseling, pharmacovigilance, rational drug use, medicine storage, record-keeping, staff supervision, patient privacy protection and compliance with inspections.
Can pharmacists give prescription medicines without a prescription?
No. Law No. 6197 prohibits dispensing medicines that must be supplied against prescription without a valid prescription.
Are pharmacists responsible for pharmacy staff mistakes?
Pharmacy staff work under the responsibility of the pharmacy responsible manager, and staff must be recorded in the personnel register. Therefore, the pharmacist may bear responsibility depending on the nature of the mistake and supervision failure.
Can pharmacies sell medicines online in Turkey?
No. The Regulation prohibits the sale of medicines and certain pharmacy-only products through the internet or other electronic environments. It also prohibits opening websites in the name of pharmacies or pharmacy pharmacists.
How often are pharmacies inspected in Turkey?
The Regulation states that pharmacies are inspected at least twice per year and whenever necessary.
Conclusion
The duties and responsibilities of pharmacists under Turkish law reflect the healthcare character of pharmacy practice. Pharmacists are not ordinary merchants. They are healthcare professionals responsible for safe medicine supply, patient counseling, prescription compliance, pharmacovigilance, storage, record-keeping, privacy protection, staff supervision and public health cooperation.
The legal framework imposes broad responsibilities on pharmacists because medicines directly affect human health. A pharmacist must ensure that every stage of pharmacy service — from accepting prescriptions to supplying medicine, storing stock, keeping records, advising patients and responding to inspections — complies with Turkish law.
For pharmacy owners, the safest approach is preventive compliance. A pharmacy should not wait for an inspection, patient complaint or SGK dispute before reviewing its systems. Internal audits, staff training, proper documentation and legal monitoring are essential.
For patients, these rules protect access to safe and reliable medicine. For pharmacists, they define the professional standard expected under Turkish law. For investors and healthcare businesses, they demonstrate that pharmacy practice in Turkey is not a simple commercial sector but a regulated public health service.
A pharmacist who understands and fulfills these duties can reduce legal risk, protect professional reputation and contribute to safe and rational medicine use in Turkey.
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