According to the report published on Wednesday, about one in six pharmacy employees is over the age of 60. That is why ABN AMRO expects “a large outflow of pharmacists” in the next ten years. In some neighbourhoods, this “puts pressure on the continuity of this care.”
Moreover, the grassroots of the remaining pharmacies will shift “from incidental to chronic patients and ultimately to care-intensive patients.” Those people need more medication than they do now, and the pharmacists will have more and more work to give those patients the right medicines and to educate them properly. That is why it is important that pharmacists work well with general practitioners and district nurses, says ABN.
Significantly increased
Since 2010, the number of drug shortages has increased significantly. The fact that pharmacies do not always have enough medicines available, according to the researchers, is “due to problems with production, distribution and quality, but also for economic reasons.” “For example, the low prices and low population make the Netherlands not an attractive market.”
Pharmacists spend more than 17 hours a week trying to solve the shortages, ABN has calculated. They must not only look for alternative means, but also explain this to the patient and the insurer. That comes at the expense of normal work. From next year, pharmacies must have a minimum stock on reserve, and the analysts call this a positive step.