Canary Islands pharmacies face drug shortages and storage problems

related

The Official College of Pharmacists of Las Palmas and the Official College of Pharmacists of the Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife both agree: There have not yet been any shortages of medicines in the Islands, although they do recognize that some medicines are not immediately available because demand in some areas exceeds available supply.

. However, the problem can be resolved within days as pharmaceutical cooperatives work with each other to replace missing medicines with existing stocks or refer applicants to other facilities that have the product.

For example, two provincial schools were given a name: ozone layer. It is an approved drug in Spain to treat diabetes, but the main reason for its high demand is that it has another use: lose weight. During the summer, due to a shortage of Ozempic throughout the country’s territory and islands, the Spanish Medicines Agency even recommended an alternative, although shortages also emerged later.

Another product that is not available for purchase in the Islands during March and April is amoxicillinAn antibiotic used to treat infections such as pneumonia, bronchitis, or infections of the ears, nose, throat, urinary tract, and skin.

“When pediatric medicines are scarce, we don’t have such shortages in the Canary Islands because we already have them in stock. The problem arises when it is not replaced as it is still missing in the factory when stock is not replaced. This may be a problem.“”, they explain from the Official College of Pharmacists of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. What is then done is to replace the drug with another drug from the same family or to provide another form. The bottleneck in these cases is the drug A prescription is required and the patient must make repeated visits to the health center.

“Coming from the School of Pharmacists of Las Palmas, another option we have been proposing is More direct links with primary care. When there is a medicine in stock, the pharmacist knows this and if he can communicate with the health center from the beginning, he can warn you so that the prescription is not filled and a substitute is sought,” they asked the School of Pharmacists of Las Palmas.

Despite supply issues this year being almost double those in the summer of 2019, provincial schools in the Canary Islands stress that “there are always alternatives” as although there may be little of the drug in the syrup, there may be supply in another format ,For example. However, they warn that in some cases, some patients are accustomed to taking a certain drug and when the medication is changed, it may affect them differently.

many reasons

One reason for the supply problem is that, the school noted, Spain has one of the lowest prices paid for medicines in Europe, and when products are scarce, companies prefer to sell them where they can get more benefit or profit. Another factor is an increase in demand for certain products where they were previously unblocked.

Added to this is the international context of globalization: it is no longer just the case that active ingredients produced in a certain region are missing or can no longer be produced. Some production is carried out in specific areas, such as leaflets or packaging, but when a crisis hits, medicines cannot be packaged, resulting in a shortage of materials to produce medicines.

“This is a global phenomenon, not just in Spain. The EU proposes that for essential or most necessary medicines, we must start producing them. You cannot focus on products made in Asia if they are first supplied to the American market, ” Said the Official College of Pharmacists of Las Palmas.