WDue to a shortage of medicines, the Bavarian state government is temporarily allowing the import of antibiotic juices for children that are not approved in Germany. “We in Bavaria are leaving no stone unturned to improve the situation,” said Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU) on Saturday. On Tuesday, the federal government officially identified a “supply shortage” for antibiotic juices for children. According to Holetschek, it is now possible for the state authorities to temporarily deviate from the requirements of the Medicines Act (AMG) in individual cases.
“We are immediately introducing two measures in Bavaria to alleviate the lack of antibiotic juices for children,” said Holetschek. “On the one hand, the governments should use a new general decree to temporarily allow the import of medicines that are not actually approved or registered in our country.” This would allow pharmaceutical wholesalers, pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies to act unbureaucratically.
The second measure is an appeal by Holetschek to the health insurance companies – with the aim of making it easier for pharmacists to produce their own antibiotics. “In this I ask the health insurance companies not to refuse any surcharges or reimbursements for the time being and subsequently not to reclaim any payments that have already been made if pharmacists replace a prescribed but unavailable antibiotic juice with a drug they have made themselves,” said the minister. “And if the finished medicinal product is not available, it should be possible to dispense an antibiotic juice produced in the pharmacy without having to reissue a prescription.”
“A quick solution is urgently needed”
The professional association of paediatricians had previously warned of an increasing shortage of medicines for children. Association President Thomas Fischbach told the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” (NOZ) that there was a lack of fever and pain medication in dosage forms suitable for children. The antibiotic penicillin does not currently exist either.
Fischbach is one of the co-signers of an open letter from paediatricians from Germany, France, Austria and Switzerland as well as from South Tyrol to the health ministers of the countries, about which the NOZ had first reported. It says: “The health of our children and young people is at risk throughout Europe due to the lack of medicines. A quick, reliable and permanent solution is urgently needed!”
Fischbach told the German Press Agency that the letter had already been received by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) and the members of the Bundestag Health Committee.
In response to the open letter, health insurance companies criticized the pharmaceutical industry. The letter shows that the non-delivery of certain medicines is a Europe-wide problem for people, said the spokesman for the Central Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds (GKV), Florian Lanz, on Saturday. “There was a shared trust in the pharmaceutical industry that, when in doubt, they would ensure patient care. That trust has now been shaken,” he added.
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