The government wants to force the sale of antibiotics out of stock individually. Philippe Besset, president of the Federation of Pharmaceutical Unions of France, reacts on franceinfo.
“This will not solve the problem at all” but “we will do it when possible”, reacted Wednesday September 20 on franceinfo Philippe Besset, the president of the Federation of Pharmaceutical Unions of France, about the obligation to sell certain antibiotics individually. Faced with the shortage of medicines, the government will in fact introduce it for those out of stock, as revealed by franceinfo.
franceinfo: What do you think of this government measure, which aims to combat the shortage of medicines?
Philippe Besset : It’s a bit of DIY, but we’ll do it. It’s DIY because the antibiotics that are missing are generally pediatric antibiotics distributed in vials. So we can’t distribute the bottles individually… It’s quite strange. And the antibiotics which are in tablet form, amoxicilin, are also packaged in six tablets which correspond to the doctors’ dosage. So that too is a bit strange: it is only in certain cases, when the person is heavy for example, that the doctor goes beyond the dosage in the box. In this context, we can distribute individually. But that won’t solve the problem at all. Our subject, the supply of medicine, is also about proper use: we will above all carry out tests to verify that the medicine is indeed useful.
So selling individually is a problem for you?
This is not a good idea in itself. The subject is that the packaging is adapted to the dosage and that the doctor prescribes according to what the High Health Authority says as rules. The manufacturer must also adapt the box to the dosage, and that way, no medicine is wasted. The main source of waste is that patients unfortunately do not complete the treatment and keep part of the treatment when they consider themselves cured. You have to complete the treatment.
We buy medicines from Asian countries, we are completely dependent
Philippe Bessetat franceinfo
So is waste a major problem?
Yes, and it will not be resolved this winter. We buy medicines from Asian countries, we are completely dependent. And it is illusory to think that we will manage to have enough stock this winter if we do not make efforts on proper use: only taking medications when they are indicated, only when a doctor prescribes them.