Medication in Greece

Drugs in Greece are far cheaper than in the USA and more readily available. Most drugs in America need a prescription even when not dangerous. Greece is much easier and in most cases more logical. I   believe that it is so because no one ever gets rich here from suing a company, the opposite of America.

I am not sure why you choose to compare the US with Greece. You might believe what you write but its not true and making stuff up does not help the people that read your disinformation. Drugs in the US are much more REGULATED. There are many "over the counter drugs" but anything a doctor might prescribe requires a....prescription, believe it or not!! I have never in my life encountered shortages in drugs because in the US we actually PAY a lot more for the drugs even subsidizing the rest of the world. Nothing is free even though you might enjoy the imagined opportunity. That is why in Greece some drugs are more scarce!! Those drugs can be sold at a bigger profit in other countries so the manufacturers, some of which make those drugs IN GREECE export them to make a bigger profit.

As for suing, get your facts straight. In Greece, the legal system is a total mess! Even when you are in the absolute right, suing is next to impossible and even if you have disposable income to lose on a lawsuit you should by any logical manner win, it could take a decade to even get started!! Have you ever tried to get a refund from the government, it has admitted to owing you? They do not return your money!! In the US we deliberately pay excessive taxes out of our paychecks every month because we KNOW that every May we get reimbursed without making the slightest effort!! There is a calmness that we have in the US that does not exist in Greece because everyone is treated with suspicion here instead of honesty.

I don't for a moment defend the drug industry of the governments that secretly work deals with them, but the world we live in should be looked at with realism and not invent sorries to protect some twisted perceptions that comports to one's imagined world view. Speak of what you know, not what you imagine.

There are obviously good and bad things about being able to buy medication over the counter,and we must not forget that pharmacies primarily want to sell,as much as they can.They do sometimes ask you..what you are taking this for.. when you buy it but mostly not.Antibiotic over use in Greece is generally well known and a whole course of them is very often not carried through,they take them until the pain subsides if they purchased them without a doctors say so and written paper for the pharmacy.There are many different antibiotics for various regions of the body and only a doctor knows exactly which one for a specific problem and really a microbiology test should be carried out in many cases first.I asked a doctor the other day why there seems to be less cases of sepsis in Greece and his reply was..thats because Greeks usually have antibiotics in their systems.. You cannot buy some specific drugs over the counter and not all antibiotics,sleeping tablets must have a doctors paper as well as things like mental health medication,Valium etc..Generics are used a lot here,the price is a bit cheaper than the real brand name,they are just as good I believe.Sometimes there are shortages of things,to which I do a tour of all the pharmacies and usually find it in the end.I see that the prices here are creeping up and if you need several things you can get a shock when they tell you the total price but thats as per everywhere.With the state coverage you only pay 25% on each item.I saw on the news recently of hospital doctors very angry because of shortages in cancer medications,chemotherapy etc..so obviously shortages occur in the state system,privately all can be found,the will of money finds a way.

We have found no problem getting medication here in Greece.  In general they are much cheaper than the UK and a lot of drugs are available over the counter.  We have also found that the staff in the pharmacies to be very knowledgeable and helpful.