Delivery bottlenecks: Why in the pharmacy now patience is required

Supply shortages of medicines in these weeks all the rage. Affected countless patients who cannot be cared for in the pharmacy, for example, immediately prescribed blood pressure medication, or your Thyroid medication. What this means for the patient, explains pharmacist Ursula Funke, President of the pharmacists Association of Hesse.

A prescription cannot be supplied, the affected patients did not equal reason to worry. Often the local pharmacist to find a solution to the therapy, ensure, white spark. Statutory and contractual provisions as existing discount contracts, as well as medical and pharmaceutical aspects have to be considered. In the case of the cases – namely, if a thickness or an active ingredient to be replaced &ndash must; the pharmacist’s consultation with the doctor. Therefore, must practice a patient then sometimes in patience. In a detailed consultation, the pharmacist informed preparation on the Replacement.

Reasons for the supply shortages are many and varied. Less pharmaceutical companies manufacture their drugs themselves, the production takes place abroad for cost reasons. There are in these manufacturers of the problems, the immediately in the pharmacy everyday life. Of a shortage of supply of the speech is, when it comes to expected to exceed two weeks beyond the interruption of the delivery, in the usual scope. Trigger production problems are common, for example, if manufacturing processes are changed. Also because of quality problems, it may be that drugs or active substances are not released. A high demand for a drug may also lead to delivery bottlenecks. This is the case, for example, if an active ingredient or an intermediate product only a few manufacturers.

So far, pharmaceutical manufacturers are not obligated to report a possible shortage of supply of relevant medicinal products. Are the exception of shortages in vaccines, which must be communicated to the Paul-Ehrlich-Institute delivery. For the latest information on supply shortages lists, the Federal Institute for drugs and medical products.

NK

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