How have medicine shortages impacted your healthcare experience?
Have you been to a pharmacy and been told that your medicine isn’t available? Shortages of everything from antibiotics to common painkillers are a growing problem in Switzerland along with many other countries.
Solutions are now being discussed in Switzerland and elsewhere including early warning systems, stockpiling, subsidising generic production, and even nationalising some companies.
What has your experience been with medicine shortages and what do you think should be done about them? Join the discussion and let us know!
More
Why Switzerland is running out of pharmaceuticals
The subject is now almost exhausted. If there is a shortage, it is simply due to the fact that pharmaceuticals are hostage to business and if a drug does not yield, production is discontinued. In our country there is an abundance of everything, of treatment, of supply, of drugs and of pharmacies. We have become inhuman and can no longer give up anything. There are billions of people who do not even have basic medicines.
Il tema è ormai quasi esaurito. Se c'è una carenza, questa è semplicemente dovuta al fatto che la farmaceutica è ostaggio del business e se un farmaco non rende, la produzione è dismessa. Nel nostro paese c'è una abbondanza di tutto, di cure, di offerta, di farmaci e di farmacie. Siamo diventati disumani e non riusciamo più a rinunciare a nulla. Ci sono miliardi di persone che nemmeno hanno i farmaci di base.
Well said: I approve!
Ben detto: approvo!
I have never encountered any drug shortages in Switzerland, although I take several every day.
There was only one case where a certain sleeping pill was in short supply, but within a short time the problem was solved by the same pharmacy.
It does not seem to me that the problem, if it exists at all, gives cause for concern so far.
Non ho mai riscontrato alcuna carenza d farmaci in Svizzera, sebbene ne assuma diversi ogni giorno.
Ci fu un solo caso ove un certo sonnifero scarseggiava, ma in poco tempo il problema fu risolto dalla stessa farmacia.
Non mi sembra affatto che il problema, semmai esista, desti finora preoccupazione.
I faced a similar problem, but usually stockpile medicine which I take regularly. This is a serious problem because can affect life or health. It does not take much that people start dying because of too late or too little medicine.
Thank you for sharing your experience. It can indeed be a serious problem if a medicine is delayed or unavailable.
Let's not exaggerate: they even 'start dying' for lack of drugs! It's not like we are in deepest Africa. There is a network of interconnections between the various pharmacies so the medicine will turn up sooner or later. What is important is that we keep a strong pharmaceutical industry in Switzerland (!) so that they do not relocate abroad.
Non esageriamo: addirittura "inizino a morire" per mancanza di farmaci! Mica siamo nell'Africa profonda. C'è una rete di interconnessione fra le varie farmacie per cui il farmaco, prima o poi salta fuori. Importante è che manteniamo una forte industria farmaceutica in Svizzera (!) in modo da evitare la loro delocalizzazione all'estero.
I live with a donor organ since 2004 and am dependent on immunosuppressants and other medications. Fortunately, in Switzerland all medications were easy to obtain and always available.
How about a new subject??? Boring as hell...
Thanks for your comment - what subjects would you suggest / would you like to see put up for debate?
Indeed: media hysteria!
Infatti: isteria mediatica!
I have a long-term chronic disease that requires a variety of medication. I am very pleased with Swiss healthcare and the availability of medicine. I am from a country with no universal healthcare, and I can say with certainty that I would likely die much sooner in my home country.
I have had to wait a day or two for specific, expensive medicine at times, but have always received medication within days. However, antibiotics, NSAIDs, and other common medicines are all readily available every time.
Join the conversation!