NETHERLANDS — The Netherlands is grappling with a worsening shortage of medicines, particularly antibiotics and heart medication, according to a warning issued by the pharmacists’ organization KNMP.
In the past year alone, pharmacists experienced a depletion of 1,514 types of medication. However, this year has witnessed an even more alarming situation, with 1,179 drugs being unavailable for a minimum of two weeks.
The scarcity of medicines can be attributed to a combination of production and distribution issues, as well as concerns about product quality, as highlighted by the KNMP.
Aris Prins, the chair of KNMP, expressed deep concern, stating, “We were hoping against hope that we had reached rock bottom last year, but it’s now much, much worse. We can’t continue like this. Pharmacists are doing all they can for the patients who are affected by this.”
The Netherlands finds itself at the end of the distribution queue, leading to a growing list of medications that are solely unavailable within the country.
Prins emphasized the challenges faced by pharmacists, remarking, “The only remedy for pharmacists is to import medicines on a daily basis, or get creative by making the pills themselves or finding other alternatives.”
One specific example cited by Prins is the scarcity of allopurinol, a pill used to treat sciatica, which is readily accessible in other countries but hard to find in the Netherlands.
This situation affects not only pharmacists but also 150,000 patients who rely on the medication. The issue is exacerbated by the fact that the four major health insurers in the country have selected the same preferential provider for 37 medicines.
Hospitals are also facing difficulties in accessing an adequate supply of medicines. Urging prompt action, Prins called for relevant parties to come together and discuss potential solutions, stating, “We need to get all the relevant parties around the table and talk about solutions as soon as possible. It’s all taking too long.”
Although a new rule mandating distributors to maintain a minimum six-week stockpile was implemented, it has not yet yielded the desired outcome, according to Prins.
Meanwhile, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recently published recommendations to mitigate the escalating medicine shortages.
These recommendations include notifying national competent authorities about anticipated shortages, establishing protocols for preventing shortages, developing multinational supply chains to enhance resilience, and fostering communication among stakeholders and supply chains.
Supply problems and medicine shortages have long been a concern, with the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbating the situation.
A survey conducted by the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union in 2022 revealed that all responding countries experienced medicine shortages.
Furthermore, the rise in illegal online pharmacies highlights the desperate measures patients are resorting to in order to obtain medication.
In related news, a report commissioned by the US Senate revealed that new drug shortages in the United States increased by nearly 30% between 2021 and 2022.
By the end of 2022, active drug shortages reached a record five-year high of 295. Alarmingly, more than 15 critical drug products have been in short supply for over a decade, even though the average duration of a drug shortage is approximately 1.5 years.
The Covid-19 pandemic brought national shortages to the forefront of public awareness. Notably, concerned parents searched multiple stores in a quest for common pain relievers and antibiotics during a particularly severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) season.
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