New law against the supply shortages of medicines

Delivery problems with various drugs in the past few months, always in the headlines. The Bundestag has now responded and, yesterday, the so-called Fair-cash-in-competition-law passed. This is to make it pharmacists possible to respond to medication deficiency, quick and unbureaucratically.

With the new law, the government shall take measures to prevent supply bottlenecks and to be able to effectively respond when a drug is scarce. So a pharmacist may make about the Occurrence of a bottleneck is more expensive than the prescribed medication, if necessary. Possible attack bear more cost of the health insurance companies.

In addition, pharmaceutical companies are obliged to inform you about stocks and the production of their drugs. In the case of bottlenecks, the authorities may order greater quantities of these preparations have to be stored on stock.

The new law is expected to be on 13. March on the agenda of the Federal Council, it approval is not required.

Pharmacists call for more Maßtook

The pharmacists welcomed the measures adopted, the law however &quot not go far enough:;Supply bottlenecks have on a number of fronts werden&quot fought;, Friedemann Schmidt, President of the ABDA &ndash says; Federal Union Of German Associations Of Pharmacists. "That patients will in future have to fear no more costs in case of Non-availability more and supplements can be easily replaced, is fair and reasonable. This also facilitates the supply in the pharmacies, because instead of money may be more spoken about the therapy." More stringent reporting requirements for manufacturers and wholesalers in the case of supply bottlenecks were right.

However, Schmidt remains skeptical: "The high temporal and organizational effort by supply shortages in the pharmacies will continue to be rewarded. There will, however, worked hard, and this must also be compensated." Here there is also the urgent needs as with other unsolved problems, such as the on-site pharmacies-strengthening act, which has not yet been adopted by the Bundestag.

cm/PZ/NK