Faced with the current shortage of medicines, Bern wants to extend mandatory reserves of drugs and the obligation to declare stocks, says a top government official.
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Di fronte alla carenza di farmaci, la Svizzera prevede di incrementare le scorte di medicinali
Anti-epileptic drugs and medicines for Parkinson’s disease should be included in the mandatory reserves, Christoph Amstutz of the Federal Office for National Economic SupplyExternal link (FONES) told SRF radio on Friday. Medicines for mental disorders should also be included, said Amstutz, who heads the Therapeutic Products Division at FONES. If these drugs were to run out, it could have a very harmful effect on patients, he added.
For the first time, the authorities have classified the supply of certain drugs as “problematic”, Amstutz told SRF. In the past it has always been possible to resort to compulsory stockpiling or exchange of certain drugs in case of supply problems. Now, however, not all oral antibiotics are available, but that does not mean that people will die because of it.
Current shortages mostly concern medicines for children, according to Amstutz. This is mainly a seasonal phenomenon, due to the flu epidemic and infections in toddlers, but is also a side effect of the pandemic. He said more antibiotics have been used than in previous years.
The next stage would be if the situation were deemed “critical”, with individual products or whole groups of therapeutic agents no longer available. “I hope this will not happen in the future,” Amstutz said.
FONES is also working with the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) to develop a plan for security of medicine procurement. The intention is to make virtually all drugs reimbursed by health insurance funds subject to compulsory registration.
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