Hundreds of medicines are either unavailable or difficult to obtain in Switzerland. For around 200 of these medications, the shortage poses a serious problem.
Following the shortage of these medicines last winter, the situation is also critical for common products.
The list of missing products and substances compiled by specialised websites is long. Whether on drugshortage.ch, the platform for drug shortages of the Geneva University Hospital (HUG), the online pharmacy Zur Rose or the list of the Federal Office for National Economic Supply (FONES) – the situation is very tense.
For example, drugshortage.ch lists 786 missing products, including 360 active ingredients such as antibiotics, tranquillisers, vaccines and injection solutions for diabetics.
HUG head pharmacist Pascal Bonnabry speaks of a “worrying” development that affects the whole country. Until the cause of the problem has been resolved, the Swiss task force “Shortage of Medicines” continues to recommend that certain medicines be dispensed in partial quantities.
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