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Because of a huge shortage of medicines in Slovakia, some people try pharmacies in Austria and Hungary, reported the news site Bors Online.
There is a shortage of mainly antihypertensives and antibiotics in Slovakia, hence their citizens suffering from high blood pressure often opt to travel to Hungary and Austria to buy products that are unavailable in their country. According to the President of the Slovak Chamber of Pharmacy, Ondrej Sukeľ, the shortage of medicines is a long-standing problem in the country. The main causes are shortages of packaging and raw materials, exports to other countries and a sudden surge in demand.
Erzsébet Mészáros, a pharmacist in Southern Slovakia’s Dunajská Streda (Dunaszerdahely), told the newspaper she has not received any antibiotics since Wednesday last week, thus she has to make do with penicillin. She added that
many people are heading to Hungary to buy things cheaper, as the weak Hungarian currency forint helps those shopping with the euro, which is Slovakia’s currency.
They are sure to cross over, especially because of the weak forint they can buy medicines much cheaper than here, said the pharmacist. They mainly buy dietary supplements and vitamins, and some even think big and buy larger quantities to sell at home,” says the pharmacist, who also revealed that some prescription medicines can be bought without a prescription in Hungary.
The pharmacist can switch it on his machine so that it is not charged to the social security system, but to the patient himself, who is then charged the price of the medicine on the spot.
Via Bors, Featured Photo: Pixabay