Drug shortages a common problem for pharmacies
Drug shortages a common problem for pharmacies
Problems with the availability of medicines are a common nuisance for pharmacies, finds a recent study by the University of Eastern Finland.
Some 80 per cent of the 129 pharmacies that participated in the study indicated that they encounter problems with the availability of medicines on a daily or nearly daily basis – most commonly with prescription drugs used to treat conditions in the nervous or cardiovascular system.
In particular, disruptions in the supply of the mild analgesic paracetamol, the statin atorvastatin and the hypnotic temazepam were reported during the control period.
The pharmacies were only notified of the reason for the disruption in roughly one-tenth of the cases.
Although the disruptions in supply caused problems for the pharmacies in roughly one-third of the cases, customers remained largely unaffected by them due to the stocks of pharmacies and the availability of generic substitutes. Customers were left entirely without medicines only in a couple of cases.
http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/domestic/12757-drug-shortages-a-common-problem-for-pharmacies.html
