It Takes a Team - European campaign for accessibility of medicines
The Chief Pharmaceutical Inspectorate is joining the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) 'It Takes a Team' campaign on preventing drug shortages. The campaign was developed in collaboration with organisations representing patients, consumers and healthcare professionals. Its aims are to raise public awareness of the shortage of medicines and the joint actions being taken across the European Union to reduce it.
As the campaign slogan emphasises, tackling drug shortages requires the whole team to work together. Cooperation, information sharing and trust are key to responding effectively to interruptions in the supply of medicinal products. As part of the project, the EMA and its partners - including the European Community Pharmacists (PGEU) and the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) - are showing a behind-the-scenes look at the work of individuals and institutions that face the challenges associated with the availability of medicines on a daily basis. The campaign is accompanied by films, statements from experts and stories from those directly involved in preventing shortages.
The Chief Pharmaceutical Inspectorate monitors the availability of medicinal products and is in constant cooperation with the responsible parties and expert groups at European institutions, including the EMA. Each week, the Inspectorate produces summaries of current and anticipated shortages of medicines, which are forwarded to the professional bodies of doctors and pharmacists to ensure that they have the up-to-date information they need to safely prescribe medicines and fulfil prescriptions.