Many European countries are experiencing shortages in vital medicines Euronews.com reports, with some patients in Lithuania forced to travel across the country to find their prescriptions.
Between 2018 and 2023, in Greece, Germany, Belgium and Italy the shortages lasted on average over three months. Recent shortages have been attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, although they have been on the rise for more than two decades..
Approximately 20% of all medicine shortages that occurred between 2018 and 2023 were related to medications used to treat nervous system disorders. More than 25% of the overall medicine shortages were attributed to treatments for cardiovascular issues and systemic anti-infectives..
Shortages of medication impose a significant burden on healthcare systems and professionals, impacting the quality of life for patients. The EU has been under increasing pressure from general practitioners, pharmacists, and patients to take action and prevent the situation from deteriorating further.
“We are working to have a stronger Medicines Agency that will be able to look at this,” said Stella Kyriakides the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety..
She also explained that the department of Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (HERA), created in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, will proactively foresee threats and potential health crises, by gathering intelligence and establishing the necessary response capabilities..
“Medicines shortages are increasing in Europe and have a huge negative impact on patients. They occur across all healthcare settings and involve both essential life-saving medicines and very commonly used medicines,” Ilaria Pasarani, General Secretary of PGEU Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union said.
“Community pharmacists are very concerned about this phenomenon, which can compromise patients’ health. Moreover, pharmacies and pharmacists invest a lot of resources dealing with shortages which constitutes not only a financial burden, but also a loss of opportunity to spend time with other patient-centered tasks and to improve the quality of care,” she added.
Source : TVP World
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