How the electronic prescription works in Romania (2026)

Since 2012, prescriptions in Romania have been digital. The SIPE system (Sistemul Informatic de Prescriere Electronică, the electronic prescribing IT system) replaced the pink paper prescriptions and changed the way you obtain prescription-only and reimbursed medicines. Here is how it works and what to know in 2026.

What is the electronic prescription?

The electronic prescription is a medical prescription issued by the doctor directly in the SIPE IT system, run by CNAS (the National Health Insurance House). You no longer need a physical piece of paper — the prescription exists in the database, and the pharmacy accesses it with your CNP and your health card.

There are two types of electronic prescription:

• A simple prescription (without reimbursement) — for prescription-only medicines that are not reimbursed. You pay in full.
• A CNAS-reimbursed prescription — with 50%, 90% or 100% of the price covered by CNAS, depending on the disease and your patient category. See the explanation of CANAMED and reimbursement.

The complete flow: from the doctor to the pharmacy

1. Consultation — you go to your family doctor, a specialist or a hospital. The doctor has direct access to SIPE from their software (e.g. SIUI, Hipocrate, Medcenter).
2. Prescription — the doctor enters the medicines, the dosage, the quantity and the length of treatment into SIPE. Each prescription receives a unique code (a prescription number).
3. Electronic signature — the doctor signs the prescription digitally with their qualified certificate. The prescription is validated in the system.
4. Issue to the patient — you receive either a printed slip with the prescription code, or the code by text message/email. Some surgeries send it directly to the CNAS patient app.
5. At the pharmacy — you present your CNP and your health card. The pharmacist opens the prescription in SIPE, dispenses the medicines and marks the prescription as fulfilled. The whole process takes 3-5 minutes.

What do you need at the pharmacy?

• CNP — your personal identification number.
• The electronic health card — mandatory for reimbursed prescriptions, to validate your CNAS entitlements. For simple prescriptions for prescription-only medicines, your identity document is enough.
• Your identity document — identity card / passport.
• The prescription code (optional) — from the text message, email or the slip you received at the surgery. It speeds up the search, but the pharmacist can also find the prescription with just your CNP.

Validity period

In general, the electronic prescription is valid for:

• 30 days for routine prescriptions.
• 90 days for some chronic diseases (a 3-month prescription — a monthly prescription, dispensed in instalments).
• 7 days for antibiotics (to discourage late use).

If you do not collect the prescription in time, you have to go back to the doctor for a new prescription.

The health card — mandatory for reimbursement

The CNAS card (the electronic health card) is provided free of charge to everyone insured. It contains a chip with your data and confirms that you are actively insured. Without an active card, you cannot benefit from reimbursement — you pay in full.

How to check that you are insured:

1. Go to cnas.ro, the “Verificare calitate asigurat” (insured-status check) section.
2. Enter your CNP.
3. See your status — insured, uninsured, occasional payer.

If you are uninsured and have an income, you must pay the contribution (10% of the gross minimum wage) to become insured again. Without insurance there is no reimbursement.

Simple prescription vs reimbursed prescription: the practical differences

A simple prescription for an Rx medicine (without reimbursement)

• Issued for prescription-only medicines that are not on the CNAS lists.
• You pay the full price.
• Any pharmacy can dispense it (it does not need a contract with CNAS).

A CNAS-reimbursed prescription

• Issued only by doctors with a CNAS contract (family doctors, specialists in contracted hospital outpatient clinics, public hospitals).
• Dispensed only at pharmacies with a CNAS contract (~80% of pharmacies in Romania). Check on the map.
• The patient pays only the difference (the full price minus the CNAS reimbursement).
• The health card is mandatory at dispensing.

Special situations

Emergencies at night / at the weekend

If you urgently need a prescription-only medicine at night and cannot get to a doctor, emergency pharmacies can dispense certain medicines on an “emergency prescription” (especially vital ones — insulin, heart medication). For others, call 112 or go to the emergency department — the doctor there can prescribe for you.

Lost or stolen card

You can get a new card free of charge from the health insurance house. Until then, the pharmacist can dispense the reimbursed prescription on the basis of your CNP + proof of insurance (a certificate), but the process is slower.

Prescriptions for children

The doctor prescribes on the child's CNP. The parent or guardian collects the medicines by presenting their own identity document + the child's birth certificate + the child's CNP.

Children without a CNP (under 18) in an emergency

No card is needed for minors, but you need the documents above. Emergency medication is dispensed in any case.

The advantages of the SIPE system

• No more lost prescriptions — everything exists digitally in the database.
• Instant validation of CNAS entitlements — no more waiting.
• Traceability — your treatment is in your history; the doctor sees what you have received.
• Time saved — dispensing takes under 5 minutes.
• Safety — false or forged prescriptions cannot be entered into SIPE.

Drawbacks and bottlenecks

The system is not perfect:

• SIPE downtime — when the CNAS server is under maintenance (usually at night, rarely during the day), reimbursed prescriptions cannot be dispensed. Some pharmacies can issue a “backup prescription” on paper that is registered later.
• Connectivity — pharmacies in rural areas with weak internet sometimes have delays.
• An expired card — check the expiry date (some cards have been withdrawn in the meantime; a new one is issued automatically).

The pharmacist's role in the process

The pharmacist does not just dispense the medication — they check in SIPE the interactions with other prescription medicines in your history, the dose and contraindications. If they notice anything unusual, they contact you or the doctor directly before dispensing. It is an extra safety check on top of the doctor's.

Conclusion

The electronic prescription has greatly simplified the patient-doctor-pharmacy relationship. You need three things: an active health card, your CNP and a consultation with a doctor contracted with CNAS. To save money on medicines, add the OTC price strategies and look for the nearest pharmacy with a CNAS contract on our map.

Written by Andrei-Șerban Stoian, founder of HartaFarmacii — software engineer, not a doctor or pharmacist·Updated 2026-04-02