SICAD (Sistema Integral de Capacitación en Dispensación, Mexico's Comprehensive Dispensing Training System) is the COFEPRIS online platform that lets people who dispense medicines in pharmacies earn a certificate showing they know good dispensing practices. This guide explains what it is, who it is for, what official sources say about its length and cost, and how it fits into the training program that the Mexican Pharmacopoeia requires of every pharmacy.
What SICAD is and who created it
Mexico's Ministry of Health and Ministry of Public Education launched SICAD in August 2015 as a digital platform to train medicine dispensers in every pharmacy in the country. To run it, COFEPRIS and CONOCER, the Ministry of Education's national council for occupational competency standards and certification, signed a collaboration agreement, according to the COFEPRIS press release on the launch.
The course is aimed at professional and non-professional staff working in establishments that purchase and dispense health supplies, that is, the people at the pharmacy counter who hand medicines to patients.
Length, cost and certificate
According to the same official press release:
- It is free. There is no cost to the pharmacy or the dispenser.
- It is online and takes about six hours.
- The certificate is issued automatically when the course is completed.
- It is mandatory for pharmacies. COFEPRIS set June 30, 2016 as the deadline for dispensers to complete the training and announced that it would then check compliance during its inspections, with penalties for those who did not comply.
SICAD has no levels (basic, intermediate or advanced), no enrollment fees and no 100-question final exam. If a vendor offers you a paid "SICAD certification," check that it is the official COFEPRIS course.
How institutions apply it
Institutions often turn SICAD into an internal routine. For example, the pharmacy procedure of Mexico's National Institute of Pediatrics asks staff to create a user account on the COFEPRIS portal, take the online course, complete the assessment, give the certificate to the health officer in charge (responsable sanitario) and keep a copy in their personnel file. That procedure requires repeating the training at least once a year and passing with a minimum score of 8 out of 10. These are that institution's rules, useful as a reference for setting your own.
SICAD within the pharmacy's annual training program
The chapter on operating requirements for pharmacies in the Supplement of the Pharmacopoeia of the United Mexican States (FEUM) requires each establishment to have an annual training program for its staff, according to their duties, that covers at least:
- Handling and control of medicines and other health supplies.
- The Comprehensive Dispensing Training System (SICAD).
The same supplement states that new staff must be trained before starting work, that training is updated at least once a year, that it can be delivered by the health officer in charge or by a training provider, and that it must be documented, with records and evidence of the courses taken by all staff. Always check the current edition of the supplement on the FEUM website, because the wording changes between editions.
Why dispensing requires training
Article 226 of Mexico's General Health Law classifies medicines for sale and supply to the public into six groups, from those that can only be dispensed with a prescription or special permit to those sold without a prescription, even outside pharmacies. Knowing which group each product belongs to, when a prescription must be kept and when it can be refilled is part of a dispenser's daily work, and it is exactly what SICAD aims to ensure.
Practical checklist for your pharmacy
- Identify everyone who dispenses, including new hires and weekend staff.
- Have each of them take SICAD on the official COFEPRIS portal and keep their certificate on file.
- Include SICAD in the annual training program, together with handling and control of medicines.
- Decide when training is repeated (at least once a year, as the FEUM requires) and who records it.
- Keep the evidence ready for health authority inspections.
SICAD covers the basics of dispensing. If you also want your team to explain treatments better and guide patients clearly, that is built separately through communication programs and practice at the counter.
Sources
Consulted on November 4, 2026.
- COFEPRIS. Las Secretarías de Salud y Educación Pública lanzan nueva plataforma digital para capacitar a dispensadores de farmacias (2015, in Spanish).
- National Institute of Pediatrics. Standard operating procedure PNO-FAR-02 (in Spanish).
- Pharmacopoeia of the United Mexican States. Supplement for establishments that sell and supply medicines: operating requirements for pharmacies (in Spanish).
- Chamber of Deputies. Ley General de Salud, article 226 (in Spanish).