Why don't pharmacies sell manganese? Cough medicines. As it was before
Pharmacies are already experiencing a shortage of antibiotics, painkillers, and a number of medications for heart conditions and allergy sufferers - these are dozens of drugs, both imported and domestically produced. As they themselves say pharmaceutical companies, due to the collapse of the ruble, their supply to Russia or production within the country became economically unfeasible.
After calling three dozen pharmacies, Izvestia journalists found out that it is already difficult to buy such drugs as Staloral (a drug for allergy sufferers), Zokardis (for heart patients), Nystatin ( antifungal agent), "Prednisolone" (treats including oncological, allergic, rheumatic diseases), "Acyclovir" ( antiviral agent).
The same information is confirmed by representatives of foreign and Russian pharmaceutical manufacturers and the Patients’ Union. And the situation, in their opinion, will only get worse.
Imports are losing ground
As the Deputy General Director of Stada SIC (part of international group companies Stada AG) Ivan Glushkov, first of all, supplies of drugs that are included in the list of vital and essential drugs (vital and essential drugs) are being reduced. Pharmaceutical companies cannot, at their discretion, based on the market situation, change prices for such drugs, since prices here are regulated by the state. In total, the list includes about 15 thousand drugs.
Most supply volumes imported drugs, included in the list of vital and essential drugs, are now seriously limited,” said Ivan Glushkov. - Due to the fall of the ruble, all these drugs are either unprofitable or on the verge of unprofitability.
Exactly how much supply is reduced depends on the specific drug.
We are forced to exclude some drugs from the portfolio altogether. We are refusing them due to their lack of prospects in the Russian market,” said Glushkov.
He clarified that, first of all, the supply of drugs for “regular daily therapy, which are easily replaced domestic analogues" Consumers are not willing to pay dearly for them.
The so-called life-saving imported drugs are more profitable, since buyers are willing to pay for them and high price, - said Ivan Glushkov. - They affect life or its quality.
At the same time, according to him, it is impossible to increase the price of medicine in proportion to the depreciation of the ruble.
This is wrong both for the consumer and for the market as a whole,” he said.
According to him, consumers may experience a shortage of drugs in pharmacies in the second half of 2016.
The order delivery cycle is 6 to 9 months, he said. - The drugs presented in pharmacies today are leftovers from warehouses. The assortment was ordered at the beginning of 2015 or at the end of 2014.
According to Ivan Glushkov, how the situation will develop further “depends on the change government regulation prices and the general economic situation in the country.”
He did not name specific medications because " internal solutions companies should not be known to competitors.”
Among the drugs that are produced by Stada and are included in the list of vital and essential drugs, for example, “Acyclovir” (an antiviral agent), “Hidrovit” (normalizes water balance in the body), “Memorel” (psychostimulant), “Grippostad Rino” (nasal drops). Izvestia checked 10 Moscow pharmacies - these drugs are no longer available. Only one pharmacy said they had Memorel in stock.
Despite changes in exchange rates and the difficult economic situation, to date we have not stopped supplying any of our drugs and will continue to supply them to Russian market as far as possible, he said general manager Pfizer in Russia Danil Blinov. - However, if the devaluation of the ruble continues, the cost of imported drugs may exceed ruble prices. In this case foreign companies will experience serious difficulties... the supply of imported drugs will be under threat.
We supply all our medications in full, including those included in the list of vital and essential drugs,” said the sales manager government agencies AstraZeneca Elena Danilova.
She also noted that there are risks of reduced supplies in the future.
Since 2016, registration of new drugs requires inspection of foreign production sites for compliance Russian standards proper industrial practice(GMP) she said. - From 2017, this norm will come into force for re-registration, as well as in case of changes to the dossier. The uncertainty and duration of this process carry risks of delays in obtaining the relevant certificates, and, as a result, possible disruption of plans for the timing of submission of documents for registration and re-registration of medicinal products. This may result in delays in deliveries, which will negatively impact availability. modern medicines for Russian patients.
The companies Bayer, Berlin-Chemie, Merz, Ipsen, Sanofi did not respond to Izvestia’s requests.
Foreign substances - unprofitable drugs
Russian enterprises mainly use imported substances to produce drugs, so here, too, the cost of drugs directly depends on the ruble exchange rate.
As the Biosintez company told Izvestia, in 2015 the production of about 40 drugs was suspended. These include “Nystatin” (an antifungal agent), “Ibuprofen” (analgesic and antipyretic), “Prednisolone” (including oncological, allergic, rheumatic diseases), “Furosemide” (diuretic), “Drotaverine” (vasodilator, antispasmodic), "Levomycetin" (antibiotic), "Anaprilin" (for the heart, antiarrhythmic).
Back in the summer of 2015, Roszdravnadzor asked Biosintez “about the reasons for the absence of the drug Nystatin on the market.” The company responded that the drug is on the list of unprofitable products and is not being produced.
This situation developed at the enterprise in connection with economic events in the country - a sharp increase in the exchange rate of foreign currencies, an increase in the rate of inflation. Substance is purchased for the production of tablets foreign production in pharmacies. Therefore, the cost of the substance in the cost of drugs doubled compared to the first half of 2014, while the registration price was increased in June 2015 by 12.2%. Thus, the costs of the substance exceed the maximum price for the drugs, and the company was forced to suspend their production. Prices for basic and auxiliary raw materials, packaging materials, energy tariffs, etc. are also rising. Another 38 items found themselves in a similar situation, the production of which was completely stopped,” wrote the general director of the enterprise, Dmitry Boldov.
Izvestia checked more than two dozen metropolitan pharmacies in different districts of the city, and it turned out that Prednisolone can be bought in 8 pharmacies (in one of them - only in ampoules), Nystatin was found in 13 pharmacies (however, most often it presented not in tablets, but in vaginal suppositories), "Levomycytin" and "Ibuprofen" in tablets - in 14 points, "Anaprilin" - in 15 and "Drotaverine" - in 16 pharmacies.
Without optimism
Complaints are being received about the lack of drugs in pharmacies, and we expected such a market reaction to the rise in the dollar,” said Yan Vlasov, co-chairman of the All-Russian Patients’ Union.
According to him, complaints are received, for example, about “Staloral” (a drug for allergy sufferers, produced by the French company “Stallergen”). Izvestia checked - it was not found in any of the 25 pharmacies.
It is also very difficult to buy the heart drug Zocardis (also produced by Berlin-Chemie) - out of 25 pharmacies it was found in 7.
Director of the Research Institute of Healthcare Organization and Medical Management David Melik-Guseinov noted that cheap drugs (up to 50 rubles) from the VED list may be the first to disappear from the market.
Fixing the price of such drugs in rubles has led to the fact that many items, especially the cheapest ones, are simply unprofitable to import into Russia and produce here. It is not profitable for distributors to pick up products from manufacturers' warehouses.
In addition, according to the expert, the crisis has changed the payment system in the pharmaceutical industry.
Earlier major suppliers worked in a deferred payment format with many pharmacy chains,” he said. - Now networks must pay money immediately after delivery. Even better is prepayment. But not all pharmacies are ready to work in this format, especially large pharmacy chains, which are entirely debt-ridden.
The press service of the Ministry of Health sent responses to a request about the shortage of medicines on the market, saying that there is no shortage of vaccines and drugs for the treatment of influenza in the country.
Roszdravnadzor commented on the situation with Nystatin. The department noted that in the State Register medicines As of February 2, there is information about nine manufacturers of the drug Nystatin.
According to electronic reference systems, the indicated medicinal product available in pharmacy organizations, - explained in Roszdrav.
Please note that returns and exchanges of medicines are not possible if the goods themselves are of proper quality. This decision was made in connection with the Government Resolution Russian Federation, issued in January 1998, as well as on the basis of order No. 785 of the Ministry and social development from December 2005.
However, the buyer has every right return the product if it turns out to be defective, of poor quality, or if it has expired. This provision is enshrined in the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”. There is no exact price for which the product must be returned. As a rule, the return must be made within the expiration date or warranty period of the product (if, for example, a medical device was purchased). In addition, the second paragraph 477 of the Russian Civil Code states that there is a reasonable period of two years from the date of purchase. For this, it is also legal to return a defective product.
If you decide to return an item on the same day you purchased it, then contact pharmacy. There they will have to issue a return invoice in two copies. One is mandatory for you: you present it and you will receive money for the goods. The second invoice will be attached to the goods report. This procedure is provided for in clause 10.3 Methodological recommendations dated July 1996. By the way, yours will be given to you using a cash receipt from the operating cash desk. Please note that it must contain signatures of the head of the pharmacy and his deputy.
If you return an item not on the day of purchase, or later, the entire procedure will not change. The only difference is that you will receive money through the main cash register, and not through the operating room. Therefore, make a written application, on its basis the accountant will issue an expense account. cash order. By the way, both documents (both the application and the order) must always indicate such data as: first name, last name, patronymic, passport details and address of the buyer.
Please note
Even if you lose cash receipt, then the seller will be obliged to accept your low-quality or expired goods. The main thing is to prove that you made a purchase from this organization.
In 1998, the Government of the Russian Federation decided that the return and exchange of medicines to pharmacies is impossible. In 2005, the Ministry of Health and Social Development issued the corresponding order No. 785. But there is a caveat - “the product must have proper quality.” Based on this, there is still a chance to return medicine to the pharmacy. You just need to know in what cases this is possible.
You will need
- - Medicine;
- - package;
- - instructions;
- - witness;
- - a doctor’s report;
- - book of reviews and suggestions;
- - information stand.
Instructions
Return medicine you can if you find any shortcomings. These include: - lack of instructions; - expired expiration date; - inconsistency appearance medication and descriptions of its characteristics in the instructions; - defective packaging; - defects in labeling; - discrepancy between the expiration date (batch) between the primary (tube, bottle,) and secondary packaging(cardboard).
If your request has not been granted, refer to “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, 18. Any pharmacy should have an information stand; take a copy of this law and familiarize the pharmacist with it.
If your request is further refused, ask to call the pharmacy manager or his deputy. Explain everything to him in detail. Say that you will contact Rospotrebnadzor.
Request feedback and suggestions, write your details (full name and address) and the essence of the situation. Indicate that if your request is not satisfied within 5 days, you will go to court with statement of claim.
Potassium permanganate has become scarce
The popular antiseptic potassium permanganate has for some time now been included in the list of “prohibited goods”. The product is available in pharmacies, but is sold only with a doctor's prescription. Such restrictions are not related to the ongoing fight against “self-medication” in the country (which is why, recently, many medications are only available by prescription). The point is completely different. Potassium permanganate was “banned” because especially “advanced” people use it to make one of the drugs - “screw”. A Fontanka correspondent found out what else could be included in the “black list”.
Potassium permanganate is one of the most common and famous among people antiseptics. We are used to that weak solution Potassium permanganate helps with poisoning and sore throat. It is also used to disinfect, for example, water. However, recently, pharmacists began to refuse to sell this product to customers. In some pharmacies potassium permanganate has disappeared completely, in some it is sold only with a doctor's prescription.
Fontanka conducted an experiment. Only one chain of pharmacies in the city agreed to sell potassium permanganate to us, although only 2 sachets per hand. The rest immediately asked with suspicion: “Why do you need her? Do you have a recipe? , and in some pharmacies they immediately answered very sharply: “We have never had this drug and never will!” . I got the impression that the Fontanka correspondent was trying to buy not an antiseptic, but something like morphine.
The guess turned out to be correct - last year potassium permanganate was included in the list of drugs used in the manufacture of drugs. Representatives of the Federal Drug Control Service informed us about this. Officially, such drugs are called “precursors”; they are regularly identified and annually added to the list of drugs prohibited for sale in Russia. It turned out that potassium permanganate is used in the manufacture of a drug, which is popularly called “vint”. The actual method of its use in the service was not discussed. But the fact that potassium permanganate is a powerful catalyst for certain processes in the manufacture of drugs, as the management of one of the pharmacies said, “even children know.”
Children have hardly heard of “vint”, but they know and love it cow's milk, which, as you know, is also used for boiling poppy straws. True, it has not yet been included in the list of prohibited products for sale. Distilled water, which heroin addicts buy in pharmacies along with syringes, is also still on sale, as well as the syringes themselves. In cigarette stalls in free sale There are Belomorkanal cigarettes and you can also openly buy matches and lighters there...
The Federal Drug Control Service called the ban on the sale of potassium permanganate stupid. According to a representative of the service, who wished to remain anonymous, there are precursors that are much more dangerous: they themselves are potent toxic agents. But they remained on free sale, and their ban would have caused bewilderment among most of the state's population. Such agents include, for example, acetone. It is also used as a catalyst in the manufacture of synthetic drugs. There are a number of acids and alkalis used in production, which can also be purchased completely openly by any citizen, without even realizing that drug manufacturers use these drugs for their own dirty purposes.
The chemical drug called buterate is not related to the drug of the same name, which is used by doctors to help women give birth. Buterate is pure chemistry. In Russia, the sale of one of the components of this drug is prohibited. The second component is a pipe cleaner, which is periodically used by all citizens who have ever encountered a blockage in the sink or bathtub. Initiatives to sell this product only upon presentation of a plumber's certificate have not yet been introduced into Russian legislation, but the story with potassium permanganate shows that this is quite possible.
Not long ago, residents of the capital were faced with the fact that it was no longer possible to stop by a pharmacy at any time and buy antibiotics: a number of pharmacies began dispensing drugs strictly according to prescription. For most, this came as a surprise and, of course, caused a flurry of indignation. After all, until recently it was possible to buy anything without a prescription, except psychotropic drugs and narcotic drugs (for example, painkillers).
Why did antibiotics and a number of other drugs suddenly cease to be freely available? With such a question website contacted the Ministry of Health and the Department of Medicines.
Suddenly they began to implement the old decree
Head of Services Department medical care and medical policy of the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic Samat Toimatov claims that in lately no one prohibited anything, and the decree on the prescription sale of certain medicines was issued back in 2014.
“Someone pulled him out and said that starting December 1, you can’t sell antibiotics without a prescription. Pharmacies had to comply with this decree before. It turns out that specialists from the Department of Drug Supply and medical equipment, when monitoring, they asked whether the prescription the same antibiotics. However, we do not punish anyone. Antibiotics were still available without a prescription. Uncontrolled use of antibiotics is, of course, undesirable. All of them must be prescribed by doctors of the centers family medicine. And taking medications must be monitored. We will inform you about this. However, we want to combat the uncontrolled use of antibiotics through educational work, not bans,” he explained.
You can read about the consequences of uncontrolled use of antibiotics.
The Department of Drug Supply and Medical Equipment noted that not all, but most pharmacies began to dispense antibiotics only by prescription.
“Prescriptions have been available in pharmacies for a long time. The order on new approved prescription forms was in 2015. There, as before, it was stated that prescription drugs cannot be prescribed without a prescription. Many pharmacies did not comply this norm. Currently, in hospital settings, these new prescription forms There is. This process will begin now. For the umpteenth time, department specialists go to pharmacies and carry out explanatory work. Also, the heads of large pharmacy chains were called for this. In addition, from November 14 to 18, as part of the World Week correct use antibiotics, there was a campaign “Antibiotics: use with caution,” the department explained.
In 2015, in order to strengthen control over the procedure for prescribing prescription drugs and their dispensing in pharmacy chain The Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic approved the PP KR dated April 22, 2015 No. 232 “On introducing amendments and additions to the PP KR dated January 5, 2011 No. 2 “On approval of the procedure for writing prescriptions for medicines and their dispensing in the Kyrgyz Republic,” according to which it is provided new form prescription forms LS-1. List of prescription drugs (including antibiotics) approved by order Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic No. 353 dated June 23, 2014 “On approval of Lists of prescription and over-the-counter medicines in healthcare organizations of the Kyrgyz Republic.” The above regulatory legal acts posted on the official website of the Department: www.pharm.kg.
It is clarified that prescriptions must be issued on approved printed forms bearing the stamp of the health care organization. The prescription must indicate the age of the patient, the form of release of the medicines and the nature of the action of the ingredients included in their composition.
Prescriptions for medicines are written under international non-proprietary names , clearly and legibly Latin, in ink or ballpoint pen, with the obligatory completion of all fields provided in the form, certified by the signature and personal seal of the doctor; corrections in the prescription are not allowed.
For violations of the rules for dispensing medicines, a fine of 3 to 10 thousand soms may be imposed.
Specialists of the Pharmaceutical Inspectorate of the Department carry out inspections only on the basis of instructions from the Ministry of Economy of the Kyrgyz Republic. Scheduled inspections are carried out depending on risk criteria with mandatory advance notification of 10 days about the upcoming inspection, and unscheduled inspections are also carried out based on written complaints and statements.
