It is dedicated to the phenomenon of shortages and contains useful advice for patients and patients, the guide produced by Altroconsumo as part of the “Rights in health” series, the editorial project conducted in collaboration with Acu, the Consumers' Association, and financed by the Ministry of Economic Development. The causes that make a drug unavailable, remember the 
vademecum, can be different and range from the simple depletion of stocks to the closure of production lines, from a sudden increase in demand to the unavailability of the active ingredient or other production and distribution problems.
Added to these causes are distributional distortionsrelated to parallel exports, which can only affect certain territorial areas. As far as the duties of the pharmacist are concerned, Altroconsumo recalls the fundamental rules. Starting from the fact that «dispensing must take place as soon as possible and, in any case, within 12 working hours following the request, in the event that the drug is available through the wholesalers' network. However, if a drug is also lacking for the wholesalers to whom the pharmacists apply, the pharmacist is required to request the drug directly from the manufacturing company, which is obliged to supply the product within 48 hours».
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