Reports of suspected counterfeiting, which can be traced back to technical problems, do not only appear in the securPharm system. The Austrian system of the Austrian Medicines Verification Organisation (AMVO) therefore provides for a stabilization period of six months.

There is also concern in Austria that after the start of the national system AMVS (Germay: securPharm) there may be false error messages. In order to counter the initial difficulties, there is a so-called stabilisation period and a corresponding paper with concrete measures and instructions on how pharmacies and pharmaceutical manufacturers should deal with the error messages.

What is the stabilization phase?

For a period of six months there is a transitional time, so to speak, for the handling of medicinal products requiring serialisation in Austria, during which the system is to stabilise and prove itself in real operation. Process and operating errors of the persons and organisations involved are to be recognised and corrected during the stabilisation phase.

Handling of error messages

In Austria, the error messages that can occur in pharmacies during the verification process, for example, each contain a unique alert ID.

For example: “NMVS_FE_LOT_13: The scanned/entered batch number is different from the one stored in the system. Stabilization phase – System check – VAS checks drug package. Alert ID:AT-xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx”

In addition, there are precise instructions for the parties involved and corresponding questions, which should lead to a rapid correction of the individual errors.

The error messages listed in the paper issued jointly by the Federal Office for Safety in Health Care (BASG) and amvo are not classified as suspected counterfeits during the stabilization period. As in Germany, the pharmacy independently checks the corresponding packaging for its authenticity and intactness and decides whether it is ready for delivery in accordance with the legal framework.