Meanwhile in Greece

Pharmeceutical companies are cutting drug shipments to Greece because public hospitals haven’t paid their bills, and because drug prices in Greece are lower than in other EU countries (“It’s a disgrace. The government is panic-stricken and the multinationals only think about themselves and the issue of parallel trade because wholesalers can legally sell them to other European nations at a higher price.”). It’s working out pretty terribly for patients.

PULLQUOTE 1: “The government has drawn up a list of more than 50 pharmaceutical companies it accuses of halting or planning to halt supplies because of low prices in the country.”

PULLQUOTE 2: “In Athens and Thessaloniki, Greece’s second city, chemists say they are often overwhelmed by people desperately trying to find life-saving drugs. Oscillating between fury and despair, the customers beseech pharmacists to hand over medications that they frequently do not have in stock.”

PULLQUOTE 3: “Separately, it was announced on Tuesday that the Swiss Red Cross was slashing its supply of donor blood to Greece because it had not paid its bills on time.”

PULLQUOTE 4: “’Lines will form in the early morning or late at night when you’re on duty,” said Karageorgiou, who is based in Thessaloniki. ‘And when the drugs aren’t available, which is often the case, people get very aggressive. I’m on duty tonight and know there will be screaming and shouting but in the circumstances I also understand. We have reached a tragic point.’”

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