Greek pharmacies face shortage

According to The Guardian, the shipment of medicine to Greece has come to a halt over growing concerns that the drugs will then be sold to other European countries at higher prices.

The report says that hundreds of medical products are in short supply and the current situation is worsening.

Also, over 200 drugs including medications for arthritis, hepatitis C, and hypertension, cholesterol-lowering agents, antipsychotics, antibiotics, and anesthetics are being affected by the crisis.

Last month, it was announced that the Swiss Red Cross was also reducing its supply of donor blood to Greece. The decision was reportedly made because Greece had failed to make payments on time.

Chemists in the Greek capital Athens say customers are desperately searching for prescription drugs no longer available at hospitals.

“Companies are ceasing these supplies because Greece is not profitable for them and they are worried that their products will be exported by traders to other richer countries through parallel trade as Greece has the lowest medicine prices in Europe,” president of the Greek National Organization for Medicines, Professor Yannis Tountas said.


Meanwhile, the secretary general of Panhellenic Pharmaceutical Association, Dimitris Karageorgiou, said that medical supplies are down by 90 percent.

“Everyone is really frightened. Customers tell me they are afraid [about] losing access to medication altogether,” he said.

Karageorgiou added that angry crowds of customers are in line at pharmacies all hours of the day.

Greece has been at the epicenter of the eurozone debt crisis and is experiencing its sixth year of recession.

SZH/PKH

Source Article from http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/03/05/292076/greek-pharmacies-face-shortage/

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