Insecurity among the population is increasing. The reason for this is supply bottlenecks for certain drugs. The reports of malfunctions are piling up. This development poses major challenges for local pharmacists.
Raw material and energy shortages, staff shortages, inflation – such developments do not stop at the particularly sensitive area of health care. One consequence is bottlenecks in the supply of medicines.
One to two hours of searching for alternatives
The “Tiroler Krone” has received numerous reports from Tyroleans that they have not received certain drugs prescribed by the doctor. The president of the Tyrolean Chamber of Pharmacists, Matthias König, confirms that there are always and more and more supply problems. The phenomenon is not new, but since the outbreak of the pandemic, there have been more and more disruptions. “The search for replacement preparations now takes one to two hours a day in many pharmacies,” König reports from Daily Life.
List of preparations that are not or only to a limited extent available
At the moment, about 430 medicines cannot be supplied, or only to a limited extent, in Austria. A list can be found on the website of the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES). Most medicines are manufactured in Asia. The EU wants to reduce dependency and produce more in Europe again. The Chamber of Pharmacists sees this as the necessity of the hour.
“We find replacements for every patient”
But even if the supply bottlenecks increase, Representative König currently sees no cause for major concern: “We find suitable substitutes for every patient.” Customers just need to be prepared that sometimes they don’t get the preparation they want.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
