Warning from Parliament Representative about 'Intensified Drug Shortage' in Iran in the Coming Two Months

In the continuation of the drug 'crisis' in Iran, a member of the Health and Treatment Commission in Parliament announced that 'in the coming months' we will see drug shortages with 'greater intensity.' Mohammad Jamalian, a member of the Health and Treatment Commission, raised this warning in an interview with ILNA news agency published on Friday, March 3. According to him, 'the drug production cycle has been disrupted, and even if the situation is corrected today, it will take four months to compensate for this deficiency. Therefore, unfortunately, we will see drug shortages with greater intensity in the coming months.' Jamalian explained the cause of the disruption in the drug production cycle in the country: 'Social Security Insurance, due to not receiving its claims from the government, has been unable to pay the claims of pharmacies and private centers; pharmacies have not paid the companies, and companies have not paid the importers.' This situation has arisen while drug production in the country requires importing raw materials from foreign countries. This member of the Health and Treatment Commission pointed out that currently 'between 350 to 400 types' of drugs are in shortage, saying: 'Our concern is that in the coming months, we will again reach a stage where essential drugs and those whose consumption will play with the lives of patients will become scarce.' The warning from this parliament representative comes as some social media users wrote on Friday that soon insurance companies will not pay for medications. In this context, Mohammad Jamalian confirmed that pharmacies do not accept Social Security Insurance. As he stated: 'Pharmacies have announced that they will not accept Social Security books from the beginning of March. This date has been announced as March 4 in some provinces and March 15 in others.' Previously, it was reported that while the prices of some drugs have increased by up to four times, insurance companies and the government are passing the responsibility back and forth and are not willing to accept accountability in this matter. The warning about the intensification of drug shortages comes less than ten days after it was revealed that the Iranian Pharmacists Association had warned in a letter to the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council about the drug crisis resulting from the failure to pay pharmacy claims by the Social Security Organization and insurance organizations. The letter emphasized that the Social Security Organization has only paid 8.8% of pharmacy claims, which is insufficient to cover the ongoing costs of pharmacies. Mohammad Jamalian, a member of Parliament, also had no good news regarding this: 'When the management of Social Security treatment was in the commission two days ago, they announced that the Social Security account is empty.' The Pharmacists Association, in its letter, requested the Supreme National Security Council to take immediate action to resolve this crisis so that the supply of drugs for patients in the country is not disrupted and public health is not endangered. A board member of the Iranian Pharmacists Association stated on January 27 that the price increase of some drugs has caused a 'shock' among the public, and out of every 10 people who enter pharmacies, three do not purchase any medication.