Nearly 250 medications used by Irish patients are currently out of stock, research has found.
According to the Medicine Shortage Index, there is a particular shortage of anxiety and insomnia tablets including generic versions of the medicines. Several medications to treat blood pressure are also in short supply. In total, there are 248 medicines currently out of stock in the country, 13 of which are on the World Health Organisation’s "critical medicines" list.
The shortage, which represents a 48 per cent increase compared to last year, has been partly blamed on commercial reasons, reports the Irish Mirror. Furthermore, “unsustainably low pricing” for off-patent medications was one of the driving factors in creating shortages, according to a report in the Lancet medical journal. The research, published this morning, also concluded that 38 per cent of the out-of-stock medication had just one supplier.
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This comes as EU countries such as Portugal, the UK, Germany, and Switzerland have taken specific policy measures to combat the uncompetitive pricing of medicines. Meanwhile, Sweden, Denmark, and Malta, use tenders to set reimbursement prices and have all experienced price increases due to a lack of supply of core medicines.
The Medicine Shortage Index, prepared by Azure Pharmaceuticals, analyses data made publicly available by the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA).
Azure Pharmaceuticals chief Sandra Gannon said the shortage of critical medicines wasn’t a seasonal issue and said “coordinated action at policy level” was required. She said: “Persistent shortages in the supply of critical medicines have shown that it is not a seasonal issue restricted to winter nor is it going to resolve itself over time without bold, ambitious, and coordinated action at policy level.
“A combination of respiratory illnesses and Covid-19 last winter resulted in shortages in staple drugs like paracetamol and the antibiotic amoxicillin. However, shortages have continued to persist as we enter spring. This is clear evidence, if it was needed, that respiratory illnesses are not the only cause of shortages, as some have suggested.”
Ms Gannon stressed the problem will continue unless Ireland takes swift action like other EU countries, adding: “Medicine shortages will continue to persist unless political will is shown in Ireland to take measures, like those carried out by other EU nations, to meaningfully tackle the issue. Over one-third of the 248 out-of-stock medicines in Ireland are single-source suppliers and there is immense price pressures on medicines in the lowest price segment.
“One of the means we have to protect our domestic supply of stock, to prevent these important medicines from running out, is through pricing. Very low prices might appear to be an advantage but that is actually a false positive because the lower the prices, the less attractive the market is for manufacturers. This can leave only few suppliers for some critical medicines. Failure to act increases the likelihood of manufacturers and medicines leaving the market altogether.”
In January, Kathy Maher, owner of Haven Pharmacy in Duleek, Co Meath, told the Irish Mirror that Health Minister Stephen Donnelly must introduce a “serious shortage protocol” that would allow pharmacists to prescribe an alternative medicine when one a GP has prescribed is out of stock.
She explained: “Some of those antibiotics aren't available, particularly in medicine in liquid form. For me to treat that [patient], then I need to go back to the prescriber, have the prescription changed to a different antibiotic, and then go back and dispense it. You can imagine the delay that brings. If it is the same day, it's fine. I can go back to the doctor, it'll take a couple of hours. If it's a Friday evening or Saturday because it was an on-call service, it's really hard. It could be days before I get an answer back.
"What we are calling on is for the Minister for Health to introduce a serious shortage protocol that allows pharmacists to use their clinical skills to switch from one medicine to another when a product isn't available. It means patients will have treatment promptly. If a patient with a significant infection can't access the antibiotic that they need and ends up in A&E, that could be prevented.” Ms Maher also advised people against “stockpiling” or sharing medicines.
The Department of Health has been contacted for comment.
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