Bulgarian Association for Patient Protection warns of drug shortage risks

The Bulgarian Association for Patient Protection (BAP) has expressed serious reservations regarding proposed changes to the Specialized Electronic System for Tracking and Analysis of Medicinal Products (SESPA). The system is used to monitor the delivery and dispensing of drugs on the Positive Drug List and to track shortages.

Critics argue that linking the supply of certain medicines to the existence of a specific electronic prescription may not solve shortages, but rather only identify them once a patient is already affected. Lawyer Plamen Taushanov stated that for chronic and severe illnesses, needs must be forecasted rather than addressed at the last moment through individual prescriptions.

BAP suggests that instead of introducing new restrictions, the state should conduct a deep analysis of existing data within SESPA. This analysis should determine the quantities requested versus delivered, how much reaches pharmacies, which products are systemically missing, and where exactly in the supply chain the deficits occur.