Pharmacists are sounding the alarm: they are faced with a major shortage of certain types of medicines. At the moment there are at least 580 medicines that are not available. That is what VTM NIEUWS learns.
These include a variety of medicines, from ordinary painkillers to the Epipen, which can save your life after an allergic reaction. There is an alternative for many medicines, but those alternatives are not always as effective or are only available in different doses, it sounds like.
The shortage is caused by production problems as well as by an increasing demand for certain medications. Another problem is that pharmaceutical companies only supply a limited stock to wholesalers, in order to prevent them from being able to sell the medicines abroad for more money.
“That also means that we only receive 10 packs per month for insulin, for example. Yes, if you then have 11 patients, then you do have a problem, of course”, testifies a pharmacist in VTM NIEUWS.
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