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The Association of Pharmacists speaks of a sad record. Doctors sometimes procure medicines abroad.
It’s coughing, sneezing and blowing its nose at the moment. The last two winters everyone has protected themselves with a mask, now everyone is feeling the viruses and bacteria. But right now, a particularly large number of medicines are missing, says Enea Martinelli.
It is a sad record that we have achieved
Martinelli is a board member of the Pharmacists’ Association, hospital pharmacist and keeps his own list of medicines that are missing: “It is a sad record that we have achieved. We have the biggest problems with children’s medicines, especially with fever-reducing syrup. But there is also a lack of blood pressure medication, medication for psychiatry or Parkinson’s disease.”
The reasons are manifold: Corona and the lockdowns in China, war in Europe and supply chain problems. Sometimes the active ingredients themselves are missing, but sometimes a filter or even just the box for the packaging is missing. In addition, Switzerland is a small country and therefore not that attractive as a market for pharmaceuticals.
Confederation monitors only partially
The federal government is currently only monitoring essential medicines. But there are also more supply bottlenecks this year. The Federal Office for National Economic Supply writes at the request of SRF:
“As far as the supply of vital medicines in Switzerland is concerned, the Medicines Reporting Office of the Federal Office for National Economic Supply (FONES) has noticed an increase in supply disruptions this year. It is already becoming apparent that the number of disruptions compared to 2019 will very likely be exceeded.”
Doctors are already ordering from abroad
Doctors are also feeling the difficult situation, says Philippe Luchsinger, President of General Practitioners and Paediatricians. Many employees in the practices are busy looking for alternatives. “We ask colleagues, we ask pharmacies,” says Luchsinger. In some cases, however, nothing helps: “Sometimes it goes so far that we procure medicines abroad.”
Hoarding makes no sense.
Luchsinger therefore appeals to everyone who is now purchasing medication: “Hoarding makes no sense. Only buy medicines when you need them!»
Make it yourself as a workaround
Some pharmacies can help out by making their own antipyretic syrup for children, for example. This is how René Jenni from the Leonhardsapotheke in Zurich does it, for example: “It’s mainly worth it because we have such satisfied customers. These will be returned.”
Pharmacy students often mix the syrups in his pharmacy. But it’s not worth it, according to Jenni: “The tariffs that we are allowed to charge for this are far too low. These have not been renewed for a long time. That’s too bad. Because the pharmacies could produce, but it’s not worth it.”