Women battling breast cancer said that Lithuania has been short of the much-needed drug Tamoxifen for four months in a row, and some have sought the medication in neighboring countries.
Ineta Jokubauskienė, a resident of Šiauliai, has been battling breast cancer for two years. In order for the treatment to be successful and prevent the disease from returning, she must take Tamoxifen every day. However, not all patients manage to find the medication. Jokubauskienė said that when she started looking for the medication, it turned out that it was not available in Šiauliai. She continued her search in all pharmacies in Lithuania, and she managed to find the medication she needed, while other women are going to Latvia or Poland to buy Tamoxifen, where the medication can be purchased by presenting a paper prescription. Jokubauskienė added that the situation when the necessary medicines for treatment are not available creates even more stress, which affects the body in an already difficult situation. She said that it is saddening when medicines are available in neighboring countries, but not in Lithuania.
Complaints have also been received by non-governmental organizations. Neringa Čakienė, director of the Oncology Patients’ Support Association, pointed out that this is an unprecedented situation. She informed that approximately 5,000 packages of Tamoxifen are needed every month, which means that there are the same number of patients who use the medication. An agreement has been signed with the supplier to import the necessary quantity, but prolonged disruptions after the initial shortage of the medication have led to increased demand. As a result, the treatment process of some women has been disrupted. Čakienė said that there are patients who have not used the important medication since November.
Čakienė also said that patients who managed to find a place to buy Tamoxifen are now paying more for it. The price increase was likely driven by limited availability, but it also caused frustration with the system. The association’s president noted that
women even said that the state had apparently decided to get rid of them, when the same medicine costs three times less in Poland.
The Lithuanian State Medicines Agency insists that there were supply problems in November, but that the drug is now available in sufficient quantities in the country. Dovilė Marcinkė, the head of the agency, said that the institution acted quickly, and the list of reimbursed medicines includes alternatives with the same active ingredient so that treatment can continue. She also questioned the situation in pharmacies, asking whether the shortage of the medicine is because pharmacies have not ordered it in sufficient quantities, or because patients will buy a six-month dose at a time. The reasons may be different, but currently there is enough Tamoxifen on the market for everyone who needs it to get it for at least a month.
Pharmacies dispute the assumption that they are intentionally not ordering enough of the drug. Kristina Nemaniūtė-Gagė, head of the Pharmacy Association, said that it is more than ridiculous to say that pharmacies are intentionally not ordering the medication in the required quantity. She emphasized that the biggest difficulties arise when it is impossible to replace the medication. And even if the database shows that there is a stock, this does not always mean that all pharmacies will receive the particular medication, and often less is delivered than ordered, which results in a shortage of medication.
The Lithuanian Ministry of Health, in response to repeated availability disruptions, has recommended that pharmacies temporarily limit the sale of Tamoxifen, dispensing only a month’s dose to one patient. Marcinkė pointed out that
the situation can be controlled with a responsible approach – taking only as much as is needed for a month,
so that all women can continue their treatment.
Meanwhile, patient rights groups point out that women have the right to purchase as many packages of medication as their doctor has prescribed. Čakienė said that women who live in remote areas, far from the nearest pharmacy, have every right to request as many packages of medication as their doctor has prescribed.
Tamoxifen is not the only medication whose availability is often disrupted, and the government plans to make amendments to the Pharmaceutical Law in the fall. The Ministry of Health wants to simplify and speed up procedures to make it easier to deal with accessibility problems.
Read the full article in English here: https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2848678/lithuanian-breast-cancer-patients-forced-to-seek-medication-in-latvia-or-poland
Read also: Estonia faces organ donor shortage; misinformation partly to blame
Follow us on Facebook and X!
