On Thursday, 2 February, the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union (PGEU) published a number of recommendations to tackle the shortage of medicines. It tackles in turn all the different problems of access to data and responsiveness by the health authorities.
The PGEU indicates that, “Evidence suggests it is an increasing problem across the European Union, having a significant impact on patients, on health professionals, on healthcare systems and suppliers”. The PGEU represents manufacturers of medicinal products, parallel distributors, pharmaceutical wholesalers and pharmacists.
It is therefore calling for greater transparency and availability of medicines shortage data, early detection and assessment of potential shortages, consistency of reporting, increased access to the information available across all parts of the supply chain, improved data infrastructure, and collaborative governance processes.
In a press release, the PGEU asserted that the recommendations, “aim to mitigate the impact of shortages on patients, provide patients and health professionals with up-to-date, meaningful information and improve the ability of health systems to diagnose and solve supply issues as they arise”. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)