Health professions

This chapter analyses the regulation of pharmacists and nutritionists. It focuses mainly on an important issue arising from the Draft-Law 34/XIII text, still pending in parliament, which aims to reserve acts for nutritionists and pharmacists. The provision of healthcare services is heavily regulated throughout the European Union and elsewhere to ensure the health and public safety of consumers overall, considering the positive externalities arising from healthcare services. In 2015, actively practising nutritionists were distributed mainly through clinical nutritionist services (51.97%) and hospitals (19.01%), among others. The majority of practising pharmacists in Portugal work in local community pharmacies (75%), followed by hospital pharmacies (13%). The regulatory barriers analysed here include reserved acts and exclusivity of functions.