{"id":694448,"date":"2025-10-12T15:25:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T12:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/chronic-drug-shortages-frustrate-eu-pharmacists-patients\/"},"modified":"2025-10-12T15:25:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T12:25:13","slug":"chronic-drug-shortages-frustrate-eu-pharmacists-patients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/chronic-drug-shortages-frustrate-eu-pharmacists-patients\/","title":{"rendered":"Chronic drug shortages frustrate EU pharmacists, patients"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3bf01a30b94\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3bf01a30b94\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/chronic-drug-shortages-frustrate-eu-pharmacists-patients\/#%E2%80%98Colossal_workload\" >&#8216;Colossal workload&#8217;<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/chronic-drug-shortages-frustrate-eu-pharmacists-patients\/#%E2%80%98Complicated_for_now\" >&#8216;Complicated&#8217;, for now<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2023\/antibiotic-2.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2023\/antibiotic-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Credit: Unsplash\/CC0 Public Domain\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2023\/antibiotic-2.jpg\" alt=\"antibiotic\" title=\"Credit: Unsplash\/CC0 Public Domain\" width=\"800\" height=\"530\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                Credit: Unsplash\/CC0 Public Domain<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>At a drug wholesaler warehouse in Belgium, shelves are emptier than they used to be.<\/p>\n<p>Like other EU nations, Belgium has increasingly experienced medicine shortages that vex pharmacists, exasperate patients and risk overloading public health services.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There are often several dozen medications that are in short supply simultaneously, which makes our lives very difficult,&#8221; said Didier Ronsyn, a Brussels pharmacist.<\/p>\n<p>An EU audit last month found shortages were a &#8220;chronic headache&#8221; across the bloc.<\/p>\n<p>Its 27 states reported running critically short of 136 drugs, including antibiotics and medicines used to treat heart attacks, between 2022 and 2024, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) said.<\/p>\n<p>Belgium reported the most cases, with more than a dozen critical instances\u2014meaning no alternatives are available\u2014notified to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in 2024 only.<\/p>\n<p>The cause partially lies in supply chain snags and Europe&#8217;s over-reliance on Asia for key drug components, the ECA said.<\/p>\n<p>Cheaper prices mean that Asian producers now supply the EU with 70% of the active pharmaceutical ingredients it needs, according to a study cited in the ECA report.<\/p>\n<p>The dependency is particularly acute for painkillers, like acetaminophen or ibuprofen, and drugs that ran critically low in recent years, including some antibiotics and salbutamol, an asthma drug sold under the brand name Ventolin.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, EU internal market inefficiencies are also to blame.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%98Colossal_workload\"><\/span>&#8216;Colossal workload&#8217;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Drug prices differ within the bloc as national authorities negotiate individually with producers, explained Olivier Delaere, CEO of Febelco, a wholesale distributor that serves about 40% of Belgian pharmacies.<\/p>\n<p>As a consequence, manufacturers tend to deliver more to countries that pay more, and just enough to those who drove a harder bargain\u2014to avoid drugs being re-exported for profit, he said.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, the ECA said that most medicines are still authorized at national level and packages differ significantly among countries, which makes internal EU trade &#8220;more costly and complex&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>This causes so-called &#8220;local shortages&#8221;, when a product is not available in one EU country but can be found just across the border in another member state, said Delaere of Febelco.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a growing problem,&#8221; he said, as a massive automated dispenser stacked with medicine boxes filled green baskets\u2014each corresponding to a pharmacist&#8217;s order\u2014on a conveyor belt in the warehouse behind him.<\/p>\n<p>Some 70% of the about one million client calls the firm receives a year &#8220;are focused solely on medicine shortages&#8221;, Delaere said. &#8220;It is an absolutely colossal workload and energy drain.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%98Complicated_for_now\"><\/span>&#8216;Complicated&#8217;, for now<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In 2024, EU pharmacists spent on average 11 hours per week managing shortages, according to PGEU, a pharmacists&#8217; trade group.<\/p>\n<p>Ronsyn said he often spends an hour a day &#8220;making phone calls, checking information, sending patients away, or calling them back to tell them their medication has arrived or in certain cases, that it hasn&#8217;t&#8221;\u2014something that did not h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>en in the past.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s also tough for the patient, who might panic a little when they don&#8217;t get their medication on time,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Brussels has been scrambling to find solutions.<\/p>\n<p>In March, the European Commission proposed a &#8220;critical medicines act&#8221; aimed at boosting manufacturing in the EU by providing incentives and urging member states to move away from price as the key criterion for awarding procurement contracts.<\/p>\n<p>It was followed in July by a &#8220;stockpiling strategy&#8221; to coordinate stocks and ensure medicines and other goods are available in case of crisis.<\/p>\n<p>A commission spokeswoman said Brussels was confident that these and other recently introduced proposals &#8220;will make a substantial difference&#8221; and &#8220;significantly help tackling the problem.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The bills are currently being negotiated with the European Parliament and member states, a sometimes lengthy process.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They are trying to find solutions, but it is always very slow,&#8221; said Ronsyn, whose pharmacy overlooks the commission offices. &#8220;We will probably get there someday, but for now it&#8217;s complicated.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-main__note mt-4\">\n                                                \u00a9 2025 AFP\n                                            <\/p>\n<p>                                        <!-- print only --><\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none d-print-block\">\n<p>\n                                                 <strong>Citation<\/strong>:<br \/>\n                                                 Chronic drug shortages frustrate EU pharmacists, patients (2025, October 12)<br \/>\n                                                 retrieved 12 October 2025<br \/>\n                                                 from https:\/\/medicalxpress.com\/<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>\/2025-10-chronic-drug-shortages-frustrate-eu.html\n                                            <\/p>\n<p>\n                                            This document is subject to copyright. 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Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Science category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/medicalxpress.com\/news\/2025-10-chronic-drug-shortages-frustrate-eu.html\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Credit: Unsplash\/CC0 Public Domain At a drug wholesaler warehouse in Belgium, shelves are emptier than they used to be. Like other EU nations, Belgium has increasingly experienced medicine shortages that vex pharmacists, exasperate patients and risk overloading public health services. &#8220;There are often several dozen medications that are in short supply simultaneously, which makes our&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":694449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2023\/antibiotic-2.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-694448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sciencee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=694448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694448\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/694449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=694448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=694448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=694448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}