"Everyone is waiting and ordering at the same time": Drastic bottlenecks in pharmacies
Created: 08/10/2022, 16:18
By: Victoria Krumbeck
The situation in the pharmacies is worrying.
Delivery bottlenecks trigger a drug shortage that even affects common painkillers.
Munich – Pharmacies are affected by severe delivery bottlenecks.
Drugs such as ibuprofen or paracetamol have been scarce for months.
The German Pharmacy Association (DAV) issued an alarm in mid-September that more than 250 medicines are not available.
Pharmacies report acute bottlenecks.
But even before the corona virus, there was the problem of non-deliverable medicines.
Your production is relocated abroad because it is no longer economically viable for the manufacturers in Germany.
Bottlenecks in pharmacies: delivery problems with medicines
Pharmacies have been complaining about a shortage of medicines for several months.
"There are always delivery bottlenecks because a producer is absent, but the amount and length of the outage has become much more dramatic," explained Dr.
Hans-Peter Hubmann, Deputy Chairman of the DAV.
In mid-September he explained the situation to the German Press Agency (dpa).
Pharmacies have problems delivering medicines.
© Hauke-Christian Dittrich/dpa
The bottlenecks have been there for a number of years.
"Supply bottlenecks have been an issue for us for at least five years," said Dr.
Johannes Benner, owner of the Eder pharmacy in Frankenberg of the
Waldeckische Landeszeitung
.
Nevertheless, the number of affected products has increased.
In addition, not only niche products are affected, but also medicines for high blood pressure, diabetes and painkillers.
Particularly dramatic - in April and May there was "an absolute shortage of the breast cancer drug tamoxifen," as Hubmann reported.
Delivery bottlenecks for medicines - manufacturers turned away from the European area
Not much has happened to the high failure.
Pharmacies repeatedly complain about severe bottlenecks.
"Everyone is waiting and ordering at the same time," said Lukas Frigger, owner of the acacia pharmacy in Bad Arolsen, to the
Waldeckische Landeszeitung
.
The reason for the drug shortage is, among other things, the migration of manufacturers abroad.
Many leave the European area - the production takes place mainly in China and India, as Hubmann explained.
Corona has made the situation worse.
If production facilities in China are closed or deliveries cannot be started due to closed ports, the medicines will not be available in Germany.
There are hardly any fever juice manufacturers left in Europe.
Many have stopped production because the production is no longer profitable due to fixed prices and the pressure of the tills, explained Hubmann.
For the pharmacies in Germany it is time to wait.
Pharmacists ask consumers not to make hamster purchases.
(vk)