EMA: Towards better prevention of medicine shortages in the EU Share

EMA has published a guidance for patients’ and healthcare professionals’ organisations with key principles and examples of good practices to support them in preventing and managing shortages of human medicines.

Medicine shortages and reduced availability of medicines represent an increasing issue across the EU and the globe, and it has been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. It may have a significant impact on patient care by causing medicine rationing and delay of critical treatments. Due to medicine shortages, patients may need to use less effective alternatives and they could risk using medication incorrectly.

Patients and healthcare professionals are the main actors at the end of the supply chain, therefore their activities in preventing shortages are usually limited to managing the demand for medicines at risk of shortages. The EMA guidance also looks at measures that help to improve preparedness, planning and rationed use for medicines that are either in short supply or expected to be so in the near future.

Some of the key recommendations included in the EMA guidance apply only to patients’ organisations, some only to healthcare professionals’ organisations, and some to both. For example, both types of organisations are encouraged to:

• develop observatories in collaboration with national authorities to collect and analyse information from patients and healthcare professionals on shortages and their early signs;
• work with national authorities on criteria and ways to develop registries of essential and critical medicines;
• set up campaigns across the EU to raise awareness of shortages, where to find information on ongoing shortages, risks of stockpiling and safe use of alternative medicines.

Please visit EMA webpage for all details