If you have a severe headache, would you like to be able to buy the number of tablets you need without cluttering your medicine cabinet? This idea will soon be tested in four regions of France at the request of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health with the aim of fighting against waste. medications.
The regional health agencies of Ile-de-France, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Lorraine and Limousin have therefore launched an appeal to find pharmacies willing to sell certain antibiotics as part of a one-year experiment. . The test will then be evaluated by the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm).
Strengthen communication
The aim of the call is to find 100 pharmacies willing to play the game, of which 25 will continue to sell boxes as a control group and 75 will attempt to sell individually. antibiotics. Nearly 83% of French people believe that this measure can reduce the waste of drugs, but some pharmacists unions are not convinced.
According to Gilles Bonnefond, general secretary of the Union of community pharmacists’ unions, interviewed by AFP, believes that the sample selected is too small and that this test is useless. “If we want to fight effectively against antibiotic resistance, we must strengthen pharmacist-doctor cooperation and communicate with patients,” he adds.