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Prescription drug crisis in Poland


mafketis 36 | 10,679
10 Jul 2019 #1
This has been on the news lately...

The number of prescription medications that are unavailable in Polish pharmacies now reached 500 and is growing.

serwisy.gazetaprawna.pl/zdrowie/artykuly/1421060,brak-lekow-w-aptekach-list-do-ministra-zdrowia.html

Interestingly the term 'nielegalny wywóz' (illegal export) is used repeatedly (not smuggling which would be przemyt) without explanation and it took some digging to find out what that is and why Polish news sites don't really describe it.

After a bit of digging it turns out that since prescription medications are cheaper in Poland than in Germany (by about a factor of 4) drugs are bought (technically illegally but...) repackaged and sent off to Germany for that aging (but better off economically) country. This is also a big problem in Romania and Bulgaria.

There are other issues (reduction of production in China, EU regulations which never make anything easier) but illegal export is cited as one (usually the main) reason in just about every report I can find. Interestingly the stories don't mention which direction the export is (feel free to speculate as to why that might be....)

I'm on two continuous prescriptions (which I could easily live without though things are bit easier with them than without). I haven't had any trouble finding them yet (just got a three month prescription filled a week or two ago). But many people are in much worse shape, unable to find medicines they need to survive.
cms neuf 1 | 1,703
10 Jul 2019 #2
oddly enough just went to try and get my prescription filled unsuccessfully today - last week I tried 3 pharmacies in Torun and all out of stock. some had one pack but I had my doctor write a two pack note that normally lasts me a year :( . I ordered but it has not turned up !
pawian 221 | 23,970
10 Jul 2019 #3
Interestingly the term 'nielegalny wywóz' (illegal export)

This way or another, PiS government is to blame for the situation. I read an article about it, there are already proper regulations to deal with the problem but PiS are delaying to use them, nobody knows why.

The opposition is exploiting the shortage of medicine in their campaign.


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