Drug shortages

The minister of health first mocked pharmacists because he introduced the possibility of free antigen testing in pharmacies for only two months. Then he unjustifiably slandered the entire professional group because in an interview for Polsat News he said that "possible shortages of drugs in pharmacies may result from not ordering them by pharmacists". Amazingly, the Supreme Pharmaceutical Council (NRA) did not react to this unacceptable and offensive statement.

In the media, Marek Tomków, vice-president, most often speaks on behalf of the NRA. On August 17, 2022, the article "We know how many and what drugs are missing on the Polish market" was published on the Wirtualna Polska website, in which Marek Tomków stated, inter alia, that "it is not about looking for those guilty of this state of affairs now, but to take some action. "For three years, the NRA has been able to recommend specific actions. A team for counteracting shortages in the availability of medicinal products was created in July 2019. The tasks of the team include data analysis and preparation of recommendations that should be taken in order to prevent A representative of the Supreme Pharmaceutical Chamber is a member of the Team. Who is it? It is not known because such information has not been provided. Moreover, it is not known whether and what recommendations have been prepared by the Supreme Pharmaceutical Council in order to counteract shortages of drugs.

On August 18, 2022, in the TVN24 article "There is a shortage of antibiotics for children and drugs for diabetes", the vice-president said: "The campaign should be addressed to patients on the one hand, and to doctors and pharmacists on the other. Patients should know that they cannot stockpile medications. and doctors should be aware of what products are missing and what their counterparts are, says Marek Tomków. Moreover, he believes that "such a campaign should be carried out by the joint efforts of many organizations, primarily the Ministry of Health and professional mediators and patient organizations. . " It is a grim joke to propose a joint campaign with the Ministry of Health after the minister of health slandered pharmacists. It would be best for the pharmacists' community if vice-president Marek Tomków stopped embarrassing himself, and as soon as possible. Anyone with an IQ slightly above room temperature knows that the Minister of Health has insulted pharmacists.

Public authorities responsible for drug safety (MZ, GIF) claim that there is no problem with the lack of drugs in Poland. Therefore, pharmacists should help patients effectively. How ? It would be enough to publish a list of missing drugs once a week and to provide a list of those with which they can be replaced. For example: we replace the missing semaglutide (injectable) with its oral form or with liraglutide, dulaglutide, lixisenatide, while in the case of cardiovascular risk we use dapagliflozin, empagliflozin, and canagliflozin. Who would publish such lists? It is obvious that those who have up-to-date and most reliable data, i.e. pharmacists and wholesalers. Therefore, the Supreme Pharmaceutical Council, together with the Association of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers Employers, should publish lists of missing drugs (unavailable) and their equivalents (available).