These four very common drugs are at risk of shortage, rationing envisaged to counter the shortage

As winter approaches, health professionals experience difficulties in obtaining certain medications and fear shortages.

Will France have enough medicines to get through the winter and the epidemics of seasonal diseases? The last winter left a bitter memory with shortages and tensions over the availability of certain therapeutic products. Resupply problems which continue to plague pharmacies and healthcare professionals at the beginning of autumn.

The Ministry of Health took the lead before the start of winter to limit the risks of drug shortages. Minister Aurélien Rousseau thus recalled that on Franceinfoon October 3 that France had relocated on its territory the production of "25 strategic drugs". For its part, the National Security Agency Medicines Agency (Ansm) has prepared what she calls her "winter plan" with one objective: "to be able to guarantee that there is access [to medicines] at every point in the territory" and in quantity sufficient, particularly the most consumed products. Four types of medicines are subject to particular monitoring:

• Antibiotics such as #39;amoxicillin
• Paracetamol
• Anti-asthmatics
• Corticosteroids

The first step in this plan to avoid drug shortages is to monitor the health situation and needs using epidemiological data from Santéacute; public France, to the supply data of Ansm stamps and to field data collected by health professionals.

The use of waste drugs limited ?

At the slightest warning sign of a shortage or when she receives a “declaration of risk of tensions or ruptures”, the director general of Ansm,  Christelle Ratignier-Carbonneil, plans to "automatically, systematically block all exports" medicines to cover national needs as a priority, as indicated above. on Franceinfo. It can also force the laboratories that produce drugs to have to comply. go through wholesalers and no longer through direct sales to pharmacies.

In cases where If these precautions were not enough, the French themselves would be called upon to take action. participate in the efforts. They will be invited to "limit volumes and [à make] proper use of the medicine. For the moment, "we have stocks for the winter, particularly amoxicillin, the most common antibiotic" held on to reassure the Minister of Health, but even he fears difficulties in supply and especially in the distribution of medicines this winter.

But before this measure of last resort , the Ministry of Health plans to give a new responsibility to to wholesalers, who would be the only ones in charge of the distribution of therapeutic products in all pharmacies, small or large, in the territory. In addition to this "very strong" measure, the Ansm plans to resort to the importation of medicines if some are available in other territories thanks to solidarity European, even international.