Gesy doctors adjust prescriptions after Remedica medicine recall

Nicosia, Cyprus. Doctors contracted with the national health system, Gesy, are reportedly working to modify patients’ prescriptions following Remedica’s recall of certain pharmaceutical products.

Patients have also faced difficulties contacting physicians, while many pharmacies are closed ahead of the mid-August holiday, according to Phileleftheros.

Replacement medicines

For some recalled products, Gesy has stocks of equivalent medicines that can be used as replacements.

The Health Insurance Organisation (HIO), which administers Gesy, is seeking a technical solution that would allow Gesy-contracted pharmacists to substitute equivalent medicines directly without an immediate amendment to prescriptions.

Products without alternatives

A greater issue concerns medicines for which no equivalent alternatives are available. In these cases, doctors will need to change patients’ treatment until the HIO completes an already ongoing process to obtain supplies from other sources.

For one such product, stocks of an equivalent medicine have been found, the newspaper reported.

The HIO is expected to issue detailed instructions for each product on the recall list during the week.

Voluntary recall

Remedica, a manufacturer of generic medicines, announced the voluntary recall of certain batches on Monday.

The company said the action was precautionary and that there were no safety concerns for patients taking the products. A voluntary recall is undertaken by a company on its own initiative to remove or correct a defective or unsafe product.