CPhA

Drug Shortages

Drug shortages are an increasingly serious concern in the Canadian health care system and pharmacists are being asked to use their expertise to help address the problem. In response to this issue, CPhA initiated meetings with government and other stakeholders to work toward finding solutions and has developed a number of resources to help pharmacists manage drug shortages in daily practice.

Since March 2011, CPhA has been leading a Working Group focusing on the issue of drug shortages. At the request of the federal Minister of Health, the Working Group's primary focus has been to establish a national drug shortage reporting system so that pharmacists and other health practitioners can access information on which drugs are anticipated to be or currently are in short supply.

As a result of our efforts, Canada's two leading drug manufacturing associations, the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association (CGPA, representing generic manufacturers), and Canada's Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (Rx&D, representing brand name manufacturers), agreed to collect information from their members about drug shortages. Pharmacists could access this information on two regional drug shortages reporting websites, the Saskatchewan Drug Information Service and Friday PM. As of April 2012, drug shortage information can now be accessed from one centralized website,  www.drugshortages.ca.

Resources

• Drug Shortages Survey Results: Backgrounder (Notes documentaires : Sondage sur les pènuries de médicaments)
  January 14, 2013
• CPhA Webinar to Members
  November 29, 2011
• Drug Shortages – A Guide for Assessment and Patient Management
  Updated in 2010, this guide is intended to be used by pharmacists to help them effectively manage drug shortages and to ensure continued quality drug therapy for patients.
• Drug Shortages Final Report   (Enquête sur les pénuries de médicaments au Canada)
  This report summarizes the results of a 2010 survey of pharmacists on the issue of drug shortages.

CPhA quoted during a House of Commons emergency session on drug shortages,
March 2012

MP Libby Davies, NDP representative for Vancouver East, discusses how CPhA has been “sounding the alarm” on drug shortages:

The Hon. Hedy Fry, Liberal representative for Vancouver Centre, refers to a CPhA report:

The Hon. Geoff Regan, Liberal representative for Halifax West, refers to CPhA research:

MP Chris Charlton, NDP representative for Hamilton Mountain, discusses a CPhA initiative:

MP Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP representative for Beauharnois-Salaberry, quotes CPhA: