Medicines shortages

Pharmacist and drug associations want better data on medicine shortages

European bodies representing pharmacists, drug manufacturers and distributors have issued recommendations on how data on medicines shortages could be better used to mitigate the impact on patients.…

NHS Scotland and RPS Scotland publish best practice standards for managing medicine shortages

NHS Scotland and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in Scotland have launched best practice standards for the management of medicines shortages in secondary care.…

Medicines shortage management survey

Shortage management is a challenge in any environment and especially important in healthcare. Aston University is undertaking a study to understand shortage management better. This project investigates supply chain orientation and focuses on post-disruption events in the supply of pharmaceutic…

Network set up to study drug shortages across Europe

The European Union has launched a European Medicines Shortages Research Network to look at the causes of medicines shortages and their impact on patients.…

Q&A: Providing healthcare during the European refugee crisis

Pharmacist Miguel Serrano from Médecins Sans Frontières discusses the challenges with providing medicines to refugees and asylum seekers.…

One in five prescription interventions relate to drug shortages

Around 20% of prescription interventions made by community pharmacists relate to medicines shortages, suggest the findings of an audit published on 8 July 2015.…

Medicines regulators set out priorities for next five years

Medicines regulators across Europe have set out their priorities for the next five years in a proposed strategy now out for consultation.…

Drug shortage problem needs to be tackled internationally

I wish to comment on Ingrid Torjesen’s interesting news story on tackling ongoing drug shortages ( The Pharmaceutical Journal 2015;294:234). Manufacturers and providers of medicines work in a global marketplace, where decisions affecting supply and price of medi…

US FDA launches app that alerts public about drug shortages

A mobile app that allows users to track drug shortages in the United States has been launched by the US Food and Drug Administration.…

US healthcare groups recommend ways of tackling ongoing drug shortages

Recommendations for addressing ongoing shortages of essential medicines have been made by a group of US healthcare organisations.…