Scientific Uncertainty and Guarantee of Supply of Medicines and Healthcare Products during the Crisis Caused by the SARS-CoV-2 in Spain.

The pandemic caused by the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has created a climate of uncertainty. The application of the precautionary principle is therefore justified for some of the measures taken by the competent authorities. In Spain, these measures have been aimed, on the one hand, at stopping its spread by means of a state of alarm for the restriction of daily activities. On the other hand, they aimed at recommending the most appropriate treatment according to scientific research developments, as well as containment measures based on the use of health care products. These latest measures have led to an extraordinary increase in the use of medicines and health care products, which compromises their supply. Thus, authorities were forced to regulate certain actions in the legal supply chain of medicines and healthcare products, such as procurement and dispensing.

Healthcare risk management during the SARS-CoV-2 virus pandemic in the European Union: The guaranteed access to medicines.

BACKGROUND: The disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has rapidly spread escalating the situation to an international pandemic. The absence of a vaccine or an efficient treatment with enough scientific evidence against the virus has generated a healthcare crisis of great magnitude. The precautionary principle justifies the selection of the recommended medicines, whose demand has increased dramatically. METHODS: we carried out an analysis of the healthcare risk management and the main measures taken by the state healthcare authorities to a possible shortage of medicines in the most affected countries of the European Union: Spain, France, Italy and Germany. RESULTS: the healthcare risk management in the European Union countries is carried out based on the precautionary principle, as we do not have enough scientific evidence to recommend a specific treatment against the new virus. Some measures aimed to guarantee the access to medicines for the population has been adopted in the most affected countries by the novel coronavirus. CONCLUSIONS: in Spain, Italy and Germany, some rules based on the precautionary principle were pronounced in order to guarantee the supply of medicines, while in France, besides that, the competences of pharmacists in pharmacy offices have been extended to guarantee the access to medicines for the population.

Políticas americanas de salud y de formación farmacéutica / American policies of health and pharmaceutical formation

La regulación del ejercicio profesional farmacéutico nos hace reflexionar sobre un amplio y complejo abanico de circunstancias sociales, económicas y políticas que forman parte de un proceso en continua evolución. Éstas deberían tener como fin ulterior el dotar a la humanidad de un experto en medicamento, el cual cumple una función social como parte de un equipo dedicado a salvaguardar la salud de la población.

The regulation of the professional pharmaceutical makes us think about one extends and complex social, economic and political circumstances that are a part of a process in continuous evolution. These should have as subsequent end the humanity of an expert in medicine, which fulfills a social function as part of the specialist dedicated to safeguarding the health of the population.