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By government decree, doctors, pharmacists and pharmacologists are included in the list of professions whose personnel is scarce in state and municipal institutions. According to the president of the LVA, Kristina Nemaniūtė-Gagė, it was only a matter of time before pharmacists entered the “red book” of professions.
“We have been talking about the shortage of pharmacists for a long time. The Employment Service announces that there are 145 vacancies for pharmacists and only 12 qualified specialists can fill them. We should sound the alarms, because for now, the hope that a new pharmaceutical launch in 2021 will save the day doesn’t sound like a serious plan. The situation is further aggravated by the desire to fire several hundred pharmacists who could prevent pharmacies from closing and by the prohibition of qualified professionals from doing their work, ”he says.
As of January 1, if a new project is not adopted, the provision of the Pharmacy Law, which establishes that a pharmacist must be a full-time pharmacist, will enter into force. Smaller pharmacies, which have worked most of the day as a pharmacist under the supervision of a pharmacist remotely so far, will have to break windows because it has become impossible to hire a pharmacist due to lack of it. As a result, 150 pharmacies may close in the regions next year, 272 pharmacies will have to reduce their working hours, and 350 pharmacists will lose their jobs.
A six-month transition period is not a solution
Currently it is proposed that the reforms to the Pharmacy Law be postponed for half a year and come into force as of June 1, since 140 new pharmacists will graduate in the summer, supposedly capable of meeting market demand.
“The amount of pharmacists that universities have promised will not be enough. It would be irresponsible to assume that everyone will choose to work in pharmacies and not even turn to pharmaceutical companies. It is important to note that currently 280 pharmacists are over 60 years old, 168 pharmacists have already reached retirement age and it is unknown how many will decide to leave the labor market due to retirement age or other reasons that may aggravate their shortage. Especially since the scale of the pandemic is not decreasing, some of the senior specialists no longer want to risk their health and well-being, ”emphasized K. Nemaniūtė-Gagė.
He noted that the situation would be slightly better if universities had not prevented pharmacists from retraining and earning a master’s degree early. Furthermore, it is hard to believe that a young specialist who has just completed his studies in Vilnius or Kaunas must work in a small town or village, where the shortage of specialists is greatest.
According to her, not all qualified specialists will work in pharmacies: state institutions, research institutions and pharmaceutical companies are also waiting for these specialists. According to the State Agency for Drug Control (VVKT), 3,438 pharmacists are licensed as pharmacists, but up to 705 work outside pharmacies.
Pharmacists would protect pharmacies from closure
The amendments to the Pharmacy Law are said to be being implemented in accordance with European Union (EU) legislation, but the European Commission has clarified that Member States are free to choose the most appropriate mechanism to oversee the control of drugs. pharmacological activities.
“Currently, the pharmacist supervision method is applied in Lithuania, when a pharmacist comes to smaller pharmacies to review prescriptions, consult a pharmacist and remotely monitor and consult him at any other time, it is not in conflict with the legislation of the EU “, explains K. Nemaniūtė-Gagė.
According to her, abandoning the excessive “live” control requirements of a pharmacist’s work would reduce the shortage of pharmacists, and pharmacies, especially in the regions, could continue to function, especially due to the availability of medicines during pandemics and the universal quarantine. .
“Pharmacists are being entrusted with increasingly important tasks, but when they have to do them, when they are removed from the ‘live’ supervision of pharmacists all the time, they will just have to stand at the cash register and dispense medicine. Yes If the current procedure were maintained, pharmacists could dispense medicines and pharmacists could vaccinate patients and perform other functions entrusted to them by the Ministry of Health. Furthermore, based on the practice of other European countries, the functions of pharmacists could be further expanded by giving them the right to extend prescription drugs, to prescribe drugs in special cases, “says the president of the LVA.
According to IWT, there are currently 1234 pharmacists in the country, of which 898 work in pharmacies. 40 percent. pharmacists are over 60 years old. 60 percent. pharmacists work in the regions.
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