Turkish Pharmacists’ Association: We cannot supply medicine

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The Turkish Pharmacists' Association has issued a declaration about the medicine crisis following its 43rd Ordinary Grand Congress. Raising concerns that "there is a serious lack of medicine" in Turkey, the Association has called on the authorities to update their medicine pricing policies, noting that "the picture is getting more and more aggravated."

Underlining that pharmacists are "not responsible for the medicine crisis", the Turkish Pharmacists' Association has said:

If our pharmacists cannot offer medicine to their patients and if our patients cannot access their medicine that they need, it is because of the current medicine pricing policies. It is because of the medicine price decree which has not been updated for 14 years and the fact that domestic medicine policies are not at the desired level.

It has noted, "It is our duty to warn the public in the face of the aggravating crisis because we are obliged to protect public health. We are faced with some attitudes attempting to defame our profession and colleagues for days because we do it. Inspections are carried out in our pharmacies; our colleagues face attempts of being silenced and they are targeted."

"We don't accept this attitude," the Turkish Pharmacists' Association has underlined, briefly explaining the situation as follows:

"While we are against price increases in medicine, the current exchange rate of Euro is around 11 lira while the exchange rate used in pricing medicine is 4.57 lira. The gap between the two is gradually widening and the number of medicines that cannot be found in the market is increasing day by day. And, unfortunately, this is not the first medicine crisis we face.

"We have been going through this for years. Until the Health Ministry and pharmaceutical companies come to an agreement on the exchange rate in medicine in February, we cannot procure several medicines and we cannot provide our patients with their medicines.

"We are warning: If our voice is not heard and if our call about the Medicine Price Decree is not accepted by the public authorities, the crisis in medicine will get even deeper, many more medicines will be impossible to find and public health will be wounded in an irrecoverable manner.

"If the public authorities declare in which distribution networks these medicines are to be found, we are ready to procure them and continue offering our services without interruption." (HA/SD)