Prospects for the Evolution of the Pharmaceutical Code of Deontology in Côte d’Ivoire

The pharmaceutical code of deontology governs the obligations and rights of pharmacists, thus ensures ethical and professional standards respect in the exercise of their profession. In Côte d’Ivoire, the first code of deontology, comes from Law No. 62-249 of July 31, 1962. And it has been revised in 2015 with the adoption of Law No. 2015-534 of July 20, 2015. The objective of this study was to assess the prospects for pharmaceutical code of deontology revision in Côte d’Ivoire. We analyzed the code of deontology currently in application in Côte d'Ivoire and compared it to the previous code of 1962, and then to the French code of deontology, from which Côte d'Ivoire inherited pharmaceutical sector legislative framework. The results of this study show that the Ivorian pharmaceutical ethics code was restructured in 2015 to include not only community pharmacists, as in 1962, but also pharmacists working in other types of pharmaceutical establishments, as well as pharmacy students providing temporary coverage. The fundamental pharmaceutical law principles were maintained while introducing new obligations for pharmacists, for instance the promotion of medicines derived from traditional pharmacopoeia. This obligation allows the Ivorian code to distinguish itself from other codes, such as that of France, whose 1995 code shared many similarities, with the exception of the pharmacist's new responsibilities. In 2026, the adoption of a new deontology code in France took into account aspects related to pharmacists' online communication that Côte d'Ivoire can draw upon for the revision of its code of deontology.