17 JUL – After last Friday's meeting at Palazzo Chigi, the pharmacists' associations, while remaining united in deeming some changes to the decree on competitiveness necessary, have decided to split on the protest side: Assofarm will not undertake any form of protest that leads to the closing of the pharmacies on July 19th, while Federfarma has confirmed that it will keep the shutters down.
Indeed, the meeting with the government representatives did not produce the changes desired by the pharmacist organisations. The head of the government himself, Romano Prodi, had reiterated in recent days the inviolability of the decree's structure, even if with the possibility of revising some profiles in the technical section.
The Federation of Orders entered precisely in this opening, with the vice president Andrea Mandelli and the secretary Maurizio Pace, who strongly supported the need to protect public health from the possible risks of the foreseeable increase in the use of drugs produced by market liberalization . For Mandelli, the solution is to draw up a list of products which, due to their safety profile and suitably packaged in small quantities and with extreme attention to dosages, can also be sold outside pharmacies.
Another strong request made by the Federation of Orders is a revision of the rules that would allow the drug distribution market to be opened up to capital and the possibility of creating chains. “The risk is that strong economic interests, and perhaps not always transparent capital, cannibalize the sector – Mandelli argued – bending it to mercantile and commercial logics and reducing to a minimum the professional component which, instead, constitutes a guarantee of service and health for citizens".
The representatives of the professional federation also underlined the need to reformulate the rule on the inheritance of pharmacies, and in particular the length of the period which allows the heirs to dispose of the pharmacy, drastically reduced to just one year, asking that the time window be extended to at least three years.
Finally, Mandelli and Pace also wanted to touch on the problem of employment, the relaunch of which is one of the objectives of the Bersani decree. "The data from Almalaurea and the Agnelli Foundation agree in illustrating how employment is not a problem in our sector - specified Mandelli - but beyond this, as representatives of the profession we would like the opening of new and wider professional prospects was linked to a further development of pharmacies intended as health principals, and not in corners or businesses of various types that commercialize medicines”.
Government representatives have declared that the Executive will present its amendments to the decree between Monday and Tuesday and, among these, will also evaluate the proposals made by pharmacists, specifying however that the final word will, in any case, rest with Parliament.
While expressing "serious concern about the effects that the Decree Law will produce", the General Assembly of municipal pharmacies adhering to Assofarm has decided not to undertake any form of protest that leads to the closure of the pharmacies and the interruption of service to citizens . "The municipal pharmacies - declared the assembly - will remain open throughout the country and will do their utmost to alleviate the inconvenience of citizens".
On the contrary, next Wednesday Federfarma will keep the shutters of the pharmacies lowered to demonstrate against the decree and the government's policy
Indeed, the meeting with the government representatives did not produce the changes desired by the pharmacist organisations. The head of the government himself, Romano Prodi, had reiterated in recent days the inviolability of the decree's structure, even if with the possibility of revising some profiles in the technical section.
The Federation of Orders entered precisely in this opening, with the vice president Andrea Mandelli and the secretary Maurizio Pace, who strongly supported the need to protect public health from the possible risks of the foreseeable increase in the use of drugs produced by market liberalization . For Mandelli, the solution is to draw up a list of products which, due to their safety profile and suitably packaged in small quantities and with extreme attention to dosages, can also be sold outside pharmacies.
Another strong request made by the Federation of Orders is a revision of the rules that would allow the drug distribution market to be opened up to capital and the possibility of creating chains. “The risk is that strong economic interests, and perhaps not always transparent capital, cannibalize the sector – Mandelli argued – bending it to mercantile and commercial logics and reducing to a minimum the professional component which, instead, constitutes a guarantee of service and health for citizens".
The representatives of the professional federation also underlined the need to reformulate the rule on the inheritance of pharmacies, and in particular the length of the period which allows the heirs to dispose of the pharmacy, drastically reduced to just one year, asking that the time window be extended to at least three years.
Finally, Mandelli and Pace also wanted to touch on the problem of employment, the relaunch of which is one of the objectives of the Bersani decree. "The data from Almalaurea and the Agnelli Foundation agree in illustrating how employment is not a problem in our sector - specified Mandelli - but beyond this, as representatives of the profession we would like the opening of new and wider professional prospects was linked to a further development of pharmacies intended as health principals, and not in corners or businesses of various types that commercialize medicines”.
Government representatives have declared that the Executive will present its amendments to the decree between Monday and Tuesday and, among these, will also evaluate the proposals made by pharmacists, specifying however that the final word will, in any case, rest with Parliament.
While expressing "serious concern about the effects that the Decree Law will produce", the General Assembly of municipal pharmacies adhering to Assofarm has decided not to undertake any form of protest that leads to the closure of the pharmacies and the interruption of service to citizens . "The municipal pharmacies - declared the assembly - will remain open throughout the country and will do their utmost to alleviate the inconvenience of citizens".
On the contrary, next Wednesday Federfarma will keep the shutters of the pharmacies lowered to demonstrate against the decree and the government's policy
