Pharmacists warn: Don't let your door to health close!

Drawing attention to the problems of pharmacists, who are going through difficult times due to increasing economic pressures and difficulties in accessing medicine, Izmir Chamber of Pharmacists President Tuncay Sayılkan called for urgent measures to be taken and said, "If we remain silent today, patients will face greater difficulties in accessing their medicine, and pharmacies will close one by one."

Current economic conditions and rising costs are also affecting the healthcare sector. To express the impact of these challenges on pharmacists, Izmir Chamber of Pharmacists spoke at a press conference held by Izmir Chamber of Pharmacists President Pharmacist Tuncay Sayılkanstated that current economic conditions and rising costs are seriously threatening the sustainability of pharmacies. Sayılkan said, "2024 was an extremely difficult year for both patients and pharmacists. More than 30,000 pharmacies tried to continue providing medicine and pharmaceutical services under great financial pressure. However, if the necessary steps are not taken, 2025 will be a period where pharmacies face the risk of closure."

 Great Risk in Access to Medicine!

Pointing out the need to change the current system that determines drug prices, Sayılkan said, "The pricing system based on the Euro exchange rate makes it difficult to supply medicine while also deepening the financial crisis of pharmacies. Therefore, a new system that foresees updating drug prices 3-4 times a year in parallel with inflation must be implemented. The rising operating expenses of pharmacies make the sustainability of healthcare services difficult. For this reason, pharmacist profit margins and brackets in the drug price decree should be increased in accordance with current economic conditions, and pharmacies should be prevented from suffering losses during every pricing period."

SGK Protocol Remains Uncertain!

IDrawing attention to the Drug Supply Protocol, Pharmacist Tuncay Sayılkan continued his remarks as follows: "Although the Drug Supply Protocol between the Turkish Pharmacists Association and the Social Security Institution (SGK) expired on October 1, 2024, a new protocol agreed upon has not yet been signed. Despite this, pharmacists continue to provide services with great dedication. However, the uncertainty of the process puts the future of both patients and pharmacists at risk."

Urgent Call to Authorities!

Emphasizing that they have voiced these problems many times in previous years, Sayılkan concluded his words as follows: "Pharmacists have repeatedly conveyed these issues to the authorities through regional pharmacists' chambers and the Turkish Pharmacists Association, but no permanent and effective solution has been provided. If we remain silent today, patients will face greater problems in accessing their medicine, and pharmacies will close one by one. As pharmacists, we will continue our struggle to ensure that our people's door to health does not close. We invite the authorities to take urgent measures and call on them to take action to protect our people's right to health. Let the necessary steps be taken to meet our legitimate demands, and let your door to health remain open!"