¹ The recognised rules of pharmaceutical and medical sciences must be respected when prescribing, dispensing and using medicinal products, and the principles of the corresponding therapy approach must be respected when prescribing, dispensing and using complementary medicines without indications. The Federal Council may specify these rules in more detail.⁹⁰

² A medicinal product may only be prescribed if the state of health of the consumer or patient is known.

^2bis The following principles and minimum requirements must be observed for the prescription of medicinal products:

a.

The prescription meets the minimal requirements set by the Federal Council following consultations with the medical professions concerned.

b.

The prescription shall become the property of the person for whom it was issued. The person should remain free to decide whether to receive the prescribed product or to obtain a second opinion and to determine with which authorised provider they want to redeem the prescription. In the case of electronic prescriptions, the choice of provider should not be restricted by technical obstacles.⁹¹

³ The prescriber shall not influence patients in the choice of the person who supplies them with the medicinal products if he or she derives a material benefit from doing so. The Federal Council may provide for exceptions.⁹²

⁴ Before a prescription-only medicinal product for human use is dispensed, a person authorised to prescribe and dispense the product must in principle issue a prescription to the patient. The patient may decline to accept the prescription.⁹³