Every year, Banco Farmaceutico collects millions of packages of medicines given away and assigns them to charitable organizations which then distribute them throughout the country to the most needy.
For poor people (5.6 million in Italy), spending on drugs at the end of the month can also be a problem. The Pharmaceutical Bank
collects packages of donated medicines every year (2.5 million in 2021) and assigns them to around 1,800 charitable organizations (secular and religiously inspired)distributed throughout the country, which offer free health care to the most needy (165 of these are equipped with specialist polyclinics in solidarity).
The most popular drugs
In 2021, almost 600,000 people (of which 57% Italians) turned to the pharmaceutical branches of these associations. Over-the-counter drugs (without prescription, usually paid for by the citizen) represent two thirds of those delivered. The most requested of all: antacids, antifebriles, analgesics, antifungals, local anesthetics and cortisone cream, eye drops, nasal physiological solutions and antiseptic disinfectants. Among the medicines that require a doctor’s referral and the payment of the ticket (class A and C drugs) for which there has been greater demand: antibiotics, antidepressants, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, antihypertensive, cortisone, drugs for chronic diseases, preparations for the thyroid, products for dermatological diseases and vitamins.
The map
To geolocalize the healthcare facilities closest to your home to ask for free medicines, you can consult the map available on the Bancofarmaceutico.org website (under the item “Grf entities”). An indication that the pharmacist can suggest, to whom these people often turn for help. “To distribute the medicines, the institution must have authorized health personnel, that is, doctors and pharmacists – he explains Franco Lo Maurogeneral manager of Banco Farmaceutico -. About 200 pharmacies, among those participating in the drug collection day, made themselves available for direct distribution of donated packs (the list under “Grf Pharmacies” of the online site, ndr) being the local voluntary organization lacking competent figures. This replacement service is mainly present at Udine, Pordenone, Ravenna, Palermo, Trapani, Olbia and Sassari».
The methods of withdrawal
Some rules, such as the need to give any drug (even a simple cough syrup or a headache pill) under the doctor’s instructions, depend on the organization within the institution. The state of indigence is not formally verified. Just show up with an identity document (not binding). At the Opera San Francesco in Milan “A medical prescription is always needed, both for class A and C drugs and for over-the-counter drugs, such as paracetamol, which are normally purchased without a prescription. “The prescription can be done directly by the specialists who visit our clinic or by external doctors” he clarifies Alfredo Cavenaghihead of the pharmaceutical branch of the non-profit organization. There is no maximum number of packs per patient that can be collected during the year. «Users are registered in our computer system and each of them has the right to medicines according to their needs – explains Cavenaghi -. To avoid the abuse of psychotropic drugs, those who request them must undergo a clinical interview ».
Actual users
Last year there were 4,472 (for 14,756 total visits, of which 90% from the non-profit clinic), average age 60 years. The drugs most dispensed were cardiological (26%), neurological (14%), anti-inflammatory (11%), gastric (11%), hypoglycemic (9%) drugs and, to a lesser extent, gynecological, antihistamine and circulatory drugs (for varicose veins , hemorrhoids) and eye drops. “In 2021, we delivered drugs to 278 users. Only after an outpatient visit and in the dose necessary for therapyone or more packs or just one blister, “he specifies Daniele Cerbo, one of the volunteer doctors of the Medicine and Assistance association on the outskirts of Rome. “We do not dispense psychiatric drugs. If the user requests a non-prescription product, we refer it to our doctors, who will evaluate the need. In some cases, if they complain of a fever, for example, I’ll check with the thermometer “he concludes Bruno Variselli, pharmacist at the Centro la tent in Naples, which last year served 313 people in need (half Italians).
July 1, 2022 (change July 1, 2022 | 19:20)
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