Professional Practice, Ethics, and Pharmacy Law and Regulation in Iraq
What the exam tests
Professional practice questions test ethical reasoning, legal boundaries and the Iraqi regulatory environment. You must know who may prescribe, dispense and advertise medicines, and how to respond to pressure from patients or employers.
Core rules
- Pharmacy practice in Iraq is regulated by the Ministry of Health and the Iraqi Pharmacists' Syndicate; registration and licensing are required to practice.
- Prescription-only medicines require a valid prescription; pharmacists may not substitute a different active ingredient without authorization.
- Controlled drugs are subject to special prescription, record-keeping and storage rules; report loss or theft.
- Patient confidentiality and informed consent are core duties; disclose only when legally required or to prevent serious harm.
- Conflicts of interest must be declared; promotional claims require evidence and must not mislead.
- Suspected adverse reactions and counterfeit products are reported through official channels.
Worked example
A patient asks for a third course of a broad-spectrum antibiotic without a prescription because it worked last time. Explain that antibiotics require a prescription, that unnecessary use promotes resistance, and offer assessment and symptomatic care. Document the refusal and referral. Do not dispense under pressure.
Traps
Dispensing a prescription-only medicine as a favor; assuming foreign law applies in Iraq; breaching confidentiality in a public pharmacy; ignoring counterfeit medicine reporting; accepting gifts that influence recommendations.