Pharmacy

Pharmacists have complained about herbalist shops ("aktars") in a presentation in parliament over what they said were products being sold obliviously and putting people's lives in danger.

Less than 1% are the non-stop pharmacies from all pharmacies in the country, BNR reports. The exact number is not known, however, because no records are kept.

A large number of Greeks use food supplements without consulting experts, according to a nationwide survey conducted by students of the Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki.

Greece has among the highest per capita private spending on pharmaceuticals in the European Union, ranking fifth among the 22 member-states for which there are available figures.
The data, concerning 2016, showed that each Greek spent an average of 171 euros per year on drugs, vaccines, bandages etc, compared to an EU mean rate of 135 euros/year.

Tax collection measures such as the rebate and clawback systems that prevent excessive state spending on pharmaceuticals are hindering the penetration of the Greek market by innovative drugs, says Bruno Wohlschlegel, head of Europe at the Merck Group.

The medical associations of Athens and Piraeus have reacted to a Health Ministry amendment introduced in a multi-bill voted through Parliament on Wednesday, which expands the scope of pharmacists' jobs so that they can officially administer seasonal vaccinations and tetanus jabs.

Pharmacies remain in protest readiness. This was said by Anton Valev, chairman of the National Pharmacy Chamber, after a meeting with Deputy Minister of Health Boyko Penkov. Valev stressed that pharmacies would not close, but the pharmacists would be with yellow vests.
 

In Sofia and in the country 762 pharmacies will not work today. This is what Anton Volev, chairman of the National Pharmacy Chamber, told BTA. Nearly 40 of the pharmacies are in Sofia, he specified.

Turkey has ranked the highest in antibiotics use at over 38 defined daily doses (DDD) per 1,000 people in Europe, where the average antibiotic consumption was nearly 17.9 DDD per 1,000 inhabitants per day, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) report published on Nov. 12.

A Labor Ministry bill provides for the payment in 2019 of expired dues in the healthcare sector to suppliers and patients, albeit reduced for non-patient recipients such as pharmacists, pharmaceutical companies, various healthcare suppliers and others, and even patients who have been owed money since before their entry into the National Healthcare Service Organization (EOPYY) - i.e.