The Minister of Health and Community Protection, Abdul Rahman Al Owais, issued a ministerial decision regulating the operations of transporting, storing and distributing medical products or raw materials involved in their manufacture, which are circulated within the country, including free zones.
The decision specified several controls governing the transportation and storage of medical products, including the need to ship medical products and materials involved in their manufacture that require storage at a temperature of less than 30 degrees Celsius in refrigerated and tightly closed containers, with the need to monitor transport conditions through a temperature and humidity data recorder upon arrival at the port. And until it is received from the licensed pharmaceutical facilities importing it.
According to the ministerial decision, medical products that require storage at temperatures ranging between 2-4 degrees Celsius or frozen conditions are shipped in containers appropriate to these conditions, with the need to monitor transportation through a temperature and humidity data recorder from the country of origin to their proper receipt from the licensed pharmaceutical facilities that import them. .
The decision stipulated that the shipping containers of medical products and the raw materials involved in their manufacture (exported and imported) be tightly closed and monitored thermally, with at least one temperature and humidity data recorder suitable for small containers (capacity 20 cubic feet), and at least two devices suitable for large containers (capacity 40). cubic feet), linking the data of each shipment to the serial number of the device attached to the specific shipment, with the inclusion of the shipment reference number as well as: invoice number, bill of lading number, purchase order number, contact number and other data related to the shipment, during the period of shipment from the factory In the country of origin, until the shipment arrives at the country’s land, air, or sea ports, and until it reaches the pharmaceutical facility that obtains import approval.
The decision pointed out that the remaining validity of medical products or imported raw materials upon their arrival at the country’s ports must not be less than two-thirds of their total validity period, and the remaining validity of medical products stored in free zones designated for the UAE market must not be less than 12 months when imported into the country. (mainland), with proof of its arrival in the Free Zone in Salahi, not less than two-thirds of the total validity period.
The decision indicated that the medical products or raw materials involved in their manufacture are transferred upon their direct arrival to the pharmaceutical facilities for which they are officially imported, immediately after the approval of the Ministry of Health and Community Protection inspectors on the release for the purpose of marketing, or on the initial release conditional on seizure in the imported warehouse until approval is obtained. The final release shall be for the purpose of marketing, and that the transportation shall be carried out in thermally controlled means of transport designated for the transport of such products or materials by means of transport that meet the conditions of transportation, safety and sustainability in accordance with the provisions contained in this decision.
He stated that the transfer of products and materials stipulated in this decision takes place within the country, including their transfer within free zones to several controls, which include that the transfer of medical products or raw materials involved in their manufacture is carried out according to the appropriate transportation and storage requirements according to the characteristics of each product or material in the means Thermally monitored transport, intended for transporting these products from medical warehouses within the country to health facilities or pharmaceutical facilities.
These means must meet the conditions of transportation, safety and sustainability, including the products transferred to the final consumer in accordance with the Guide to Practices for Marketing and Handling Medical Products.
The controls also include the obligation when transporting these products and materials within the country to gradually shift to the use of sustainable and environmentally friendly means of transportation, and to use bio-sustainable fuel options approved and available in the country, to reduce carbon emissions over long distances of transportation, in order to enhance resistance to climate change and reduce emissions from cold chains to The lowest levels during a specific period of time, which reflects positively on public health.
When transporting medical products and the raw materials involved in their manufacture, they must be packed in packages of appropriate size and design, which allows the transportation of more packages within the same shipment, and that the packages are made of environmentally friendly and biodegradable materials.
#Ministry #Health #defines #controls #transportation #storage #medical #products