People are unable to have access to 25% of medicines: Pharmacists

The chair of Turkish Pharmacists Association (TEB) said on Tuesday that people in Turkey do not have access to a large variety of medicines, and that the shortages in medicine supplies have turned into one of the most crucial issues.

"People are currently unable to have access to about 25% of the medicines that are supposed to be supplied in the market," Arman Uney said.

He added that the medicines in short supply ranged from antibiotics, analgesics and antipyretics to high blood pressure medications, from chemotherapy drugs to antidepressants, from nasal sprays to birth control pills, from dermatitis medications to cortisone pills.

Uney explained that recent rows in pharmacies have resulted from efforts by pharmacists to find substitutes for the medicines in short supply, to consult with doctors, and to contact as many storehouses as possible to see if one had the medicine in supply.

Pointing out that the government's pricing policy is one of the major factors behind the shortages, he said:

"Not only has the current pricing policy failed in solving the problem, but it has now become a problem itself. Medicine shortages are turning into a medicine crisis. Immediate measures should be taken, and a new pricing policy should be implemented in accordance with the views of all stakeholders."