In a year when there are many wasps, the EpiPen is hardly available. This medicine can save the lives of people who are allergic to wasp stings, but pharmacists often have to sell no because of a shortage. A new chapter in the increasingly thick book about medicine shortages in the Netherlands.
After a severe allergic reaction due to a sting or, for example, eating nuts, the shot of adrenaline from the EpiPen ensures that the worst reaction of the body is counteracted. This will give you more time to get medical help. According to Feroz Akbari of Pharmacy De Vriendschap in Emmen, there are no good alternatives. “You can still choose the variant for children or another manufacturer, but they are now also in forwarding (and are therefore not immediately available, ed.). You still have certain tablets, but they work much less. a big drama in the Netherlands.”
With the latter, Akbari refers to a larger problem that pharmacists face. “Four large wholesalers take care of the distribution of medication across the Netherlands. Almost all pharmacies are connected to this. If one or two are sent back, it is only a matter of time before the other wholesalers also have it in backorder. it only depends on what we have in stock and unfortunately it is no longer cost-effective for a pharmacy to have a very large stock.”
According to Akbari, this is partly due to the preference policy of health insurers, whereby the cheapest medicine is reimbursed. “Having a lot of medicines in stock is simply a huge cost item. The average pharmacy pays very close attention to that.”
Whatever all the reasons from suppliers and insurers, Akbari simply wants to be able to deliver. “We just want to help patients at the counter, because we have to tell them that it is no longer there or that they have to switch. The health insurer or Minister Kuipers will not notice.”
According to Akbari, the current system is not working. “The Netherlands, as a small country with small orders, goes for the lowest price. Then the manufacturers opt for a larger sales market where they are willing to pay the main price.” He sees that the EpiPen is still available in Germany. But a patient cannot just cross the border to pick up one, or pay the main price, which is then not reimbursed, says the pharmacist.
It leads to frustration among patients, who sometimes make this clear in an unmistakable way to the messenger of the bad news: the pharmacist. “Not everyone understands how it works, we are looked at,” says Akbari. “It’s also a daily frustration for us, which also takes a lot of hours to come up with solutions for doctors and patients.”
Akbari has received some hopeful news about the EpiPen. “I’ve been in contact with the supplier and they said they had manufacturing issues. Those issues have now been resolved, so hopefully we’ll have a large stock of EpiPens back soon.”