He medication shortage It is a situation with which For years they have had to live together in Cordova and throughout Spain health professionals (doctors, nurses, pharmacists, among others) and patients. With data closed last Friday, the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (Aemps) was aware of incidents in the supply of nearly a thousand medications, an amount that varies from time to time because it is continually updated. The Aemps in turn specifies in this list the approximate date on which said supply deficit is expected to be resolved, a problem that occurs when the available units of a medication in the pharmaceutical channel are lower than the consumption needs at a time. certain.
Although the concern is “logical” What causes going to a pharmacy and the patient knowing that the medication they have been prescribed is not available due to a shortage problem, the president of the College of Pharmacists of Córdoba, Rafael Casañonotes that “In pharmacies we have different tools to try to find a substitute drug “if at the moment it is not possible to bring the one that is in deficit to the pharmacy.” On the one hand, Rafael Casaño refers to the internal platform available to pharmacists to consult with colleagues who are in the same neighborhood, city or town if their pharmacy has the medication that is not available in their pharmacy, a system that provides quite agility in the search.
Furthermore, the president of this college highlights that just a decade ago the General Council of Colleges of Pharmacists launched the Cismed system (Drug Supply Information Center) that allows know in real time the drugs with supply problemsinformation that allows the pharmacy manager to make pertinent decisions in order to guaranteeto the extent possible, the continuity of treatments of patients and avoid alterations in taking medications. In this way, the pharmacist can know which drugs are missing and offer alternatives, when it is possible to substitute them, or inform the doctor and patient if the treatment has to be reviewed.
Strategies
On the other hand, Casaño highlights that Andalusian pharmacists are working with the Ministry of Health to be able to modify the regulations in cases such as those where there is a shortage of a certain medication in a specific presentation, for example, if there is a shortage of an antibiotic in syrup, so that in pharmacies it can be dispensed in pill or other format, without the need for the doctor to write a new prescription. Rafael Casaño also emphasizes a piloting that has been carried out in pharmacies in Malaga, and that wants to be extended to all of Andalusiafor cases in which it is necessary to order a medication from abroad, due to a shortage or non-existence in Spain of the product, so that the pharmacies can be the ones to directly claim said drug and thus prevent the family from having to do so through a petition to the Health Delegation, trying in this way to speed up and make the process more accessible.
A pharmacist displays several of his medications.
Despite the large number of medicines that present supply problems in Spain, the Aemps highlights, in its report relating to the second half of 2023, that «For the first time since 2020, there has been a 7% decrease in presentations of medicines with supply problems in the second half of last year, a decrease that amounts to 27% when it comes to medications with a greater healthcare impact, which is the deficit that causes the most disruption to patients.
Causes of the deficit
The Aemps, dependent on the Ministry of Health, details that the main causes that cause incidents in the supply are usually manufacturing plant capacity issues, in a third of the cases; he Increased demandin one out of every four situations (with the notable case of ozempic-type medications or other antidiabetics), or the manufacturing problems.
For its part, with regard to the medications most affected by Specific or chronic shortage problems are found in some antidiabetic drugsto address mental health disorders or cardiovascular, respiratory or central nervous system pathologies, antibiotics, eye drops, among others.
The Rotateq children’s vaccine also presents a deficit
The shortage of some medicines is also affecting some vaccines, as is the case of Rotateqvaccine children against rotavirus, one of the leading causes of severe gastroenteritis in babies and young children. The coordinator of the Medicine Information Center of the College of Pharmacists of Córdoba, Beatriz Montesindicates that “The supply problem with the Rotateq vaccine began on April 29 and the supply is expected to normalize from July 5», according to information from the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (Aemps). Montes specifies that despite this incidence, there is another vaccine against rotavirus, Rotarix, although it has a different regimen. Rotateq is 3 doses while Rotarix is 2 doses. So families who have been prescribed Rotateq and are being affected by the lack of the vaccine should go to their pediatrician to change their prescription and indicate the new dosage regimen based on whether or not they have received a previous dose. The rotavirus vaccine It is the only one that is not paid for by the public system.although the Andalusian Health Service (SAS) plans to include it in the vaccination schedule before the end of 2025. Rotateq has a price of 69.50 euros per dose and there are 3 vaccines that must be administered, while Rotarix has 2 doses at 93.66 euros each.
Rotavirus vaccine inoculation.
