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Bochenek T, Abilova V, Alkan A, Asanin B, de Miguel Beriain I, Besovic Z, Vella Bonanno P, Bucsics A, Davidescu M, De Weerdt E, Duborija-Kovacevic N, Fürst J, Gaga M, Gailīte E, Gulbinovič J, Gürpınar EU, Hankó B, Hargaden V, Hotvedt TA, Hoxha I, Huys I, Inotai A, Jakupi A, Jenzer H, Joppi R, Laius O, Lenormand MC, Makridaki D, Malaj A, Margus K, Marković-Peković V, Miljković N, de Miranda JL, Primožič S, Rajinac D, Schwartz DG, Šebesta R, Simoens S, Slaby J, Sović-Brkičić L, Tesar T, Tzimis L, Warmińska E, Godman B. Systemic Measures and Legislative and Organizational Frameworks Aimed at Preventing or Mitigating Drug Shortages in 28 European and Western Asian Countries. Front Pharmacol 2018; 8:942. [PMID: 29403372 PMCID: PMC5779072 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2017.00942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2017] [Accepted: 12/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Drug shortages have been identified as a public health problem in an increasing number of countries. This can negatively impact on the quality and efficiency of patient care, as well as contribute to increases in the cost of treatment and the workload of health care providers. Shortages also raise ethical and political issues. The scientific evidence on drug shortages is still scarce, but many lessons can be drawn from cross-country analyses. The objective of this study was to characterize, compare, and evaluate the current systemic measures and legislative and organizational frameworks aimed at preventing or mitigating drug shortages within health care systems across a range of European and Western Asian countries. The study design was retrospective, cross-sectional, descriptive, and observational. Information was gathered through a survey distributed among senior personnel from ministries of health, state medicines agencies, local health authorities, other health or pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement authorities, health insurance companies and academic institutions, with knowledge of the pharmaceutical markets in the 28 countries studied. Our study found that formal definitions of drug shortages currently exist in only a few countries. The characteristics of drug shortages, including their assortment, duration, frequency, and dynamics, were found to be variable and sometimes difficult to assess. Numerous information hubs were identified. Providing public access to information on drug shortages to the maximum possible extent is a prerequisite for performing more advanced studies on the problem and identifying solutions. Imposing public service obligations, providing the formal possibility to prescribe unlicensed medicines, and temporary bans on parallel exports are widespread measures. A positive finding of our study was the identification of numerous bottom-up initiatives and organizational frameworks aimed at preventing or mitigating drug shortages. The experiences and lessons drawn from these initiatives should be carefully evaluated, monitored, and presented to a wider international audience for careful appraisal. To be able to find solutions to the problem of drug shortages, there is an urgent need to develop a set of agreed definitions for drug shortages, as well as methodologies for their evaluation and monitoring. This is being progressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomasz Bochenek
- Department of Drug Management, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
| | - Vafa Abilova
- Analytical Expertise Centre, Ministry of Health, Baku, Azerbaijan
| | - Ali Alkan
- Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Bogdan Asanin
- Department of Surgery, Department of Medical Ethics, Medical Faculty of the University of Montenegro, Podgorica, Montenegro
| | | | - Zeljka Besovic
- Montenegrin Agency for Drugs and Medical Devices, Sector for Drugs and Medical Devices, Podgorica, Montenegro
| | - Patricia Vella Bonanno
- Department of Pharmacoepidemiology, Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Anna Bucsics
- Mechanism of Coordinated Access to Orphan Medicinal Products, Brussels, Belgium
| | | | - Elfi De Weerdt
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Natasa Duborija-Kovacevic
- Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology, Medical Faculty of the University of Montenegro, Podgorica, Montenegro
| | - Jurij Fürst
- Department of Medicines, Health Insurance Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Mina Gaga
- 7th Respiratory Medicine Department, Athens Chest Hospital Sotiria, Athens, Greece
| | | | - Jolanta Gulbinovič
- Department of Pathology, Forensic Medicine and Pharmacology, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.,State Medicine Control Agency, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Emre U Gürpınar
- Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Balázs Hankó
- University Pharmacy Department of Pharmacy Administration, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Vincent Hargaden
- School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | | | - Iris Hoxha
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Medicine, Tirana, Albania
| | - Isabelle Huys
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Andras Inotai
- Syreon Research Institute, Budapest, Hungary.,Department of Health Policy and Health Economics, Institute of Economics, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Arianit Jakupi
- Department of Drug Management, Faculty of Pharmacy, UBT (Kosovo), Prishtina, Albania
| | - Helena Jenzer
- Health Department, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Bern, Switzerland.,University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich (PUK), Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Roberta Joppi
- Local Health Unit of Verona-Veneto Region, Verona, Italy
| | - Ott Laius
- State Agency of Medicines, Tartu, Estonia
| | | | - Despina Makridaki
- Panhellenic Association of Hospital Pharmacists, Athens, Greece.,National Organization for Medicines, Athens, Greece
| | - Admir Malaj
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Medicine, Tirana, Albania
| | - Kertu Margus
- Estonian State Agency of Medicines, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Vanda Marković-Peković
- Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.,Faculty of Medicine, Department of Social Pharmacy, University of Banja Luka (Republic of Srpska), Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
| | | | - João L de Miranda
- Escola Superior de Tecnologia e Gestão, Instituto Politécnico de Portalegre, Portalegre, Portugal.,Centro de Recursos Naturais e Ambiente, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Stanislav Primožič
- Agency for Medicinal Products and Medicinal Devices, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | | | - David G Schwartz
- Graduate School of Business Administration, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | | | - Steven Simoens
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Juraj Slaby
- State Institute for Drug Control, Prague, Czechia
| | | | - Tomas Tesar
- Department of Organisation and Management in Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Faculty, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | | | - Ewa Warmińska
- Dentons Europe Dąbrowski i Wspólnicy sp. k., Warszawa, Poland
| | - Brian Godman
- Department of Pharmacoepidemiology, Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom.,Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Karolinska University Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Health Economics Centre, Liverpool University Management School, Liverpool, United Kingdom
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