Hospital pharmacists in Malta are calling for a “high-level investigation”, led by the European Commission, into the causes of medicine shortages and the impact on patients.
According to the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) survey, 90 per cent of those in Malta stated that medicine shortage was a current problem, with 73 per cent adding it was a daily problem.
In answers to the poll, local pharmacists called for the situation to be investigated.
The problem, the survey found, mainly affected generic products, contrasting with the most common response given by other countries, which experienced the most shortages in originator pharmaceuticals.
An originator is a novel drug that was under patent protection when launched on the market.
Generics are pharmaceutical products usually intended to be interchangeable with the originator brand product, manufactured without a licence from the originator manufacturer and marketed after the expiry of patent or other exclusivity rights.
The top categories affected in Malta included cardiovascular, emergency and gastrointestinal medicines.
The survey on medicines supply shortages, which encapsulated 36 European countries, was conducted between March and May this year.
Specific medicines in shortage over the past year in Malta included frusemide (a diuretic used for blood pressure treatment), etoposide and cytarbine (used for cancer treatment), and phenytoin (used for epilepsy treatment).
Seventy-eight per cent of Maltese hospital pharmacists “strongly agreed” with the statement that “medicines shortages in my hospital are having a negative impact on patient care”.
EAHP President Roberto Frontini said two things always shocked him about the medicines shortages problem in Europe: its scale and the known impacts it was having on patient safety and welfare.
“For too long this problem has been brushed under the carpet,” he said.
“It is time for those with responsibility for protecting European citizens from cross-border health threats to address the issue. We need improved systems for ensuring early reporting of medicines supply disruptions, with causes, likely duration and available alternatives notified to healthcare professionals.
“We need a steep change in the recording of information about the problem.
“This could be addressed by the European Medicines Agency developing a database of medicines in shortage across Europe, replicating that of its counterpart in the USA.
“We need criteria for a fair distribution in case of shortages, based on patient’s needs and not on commercial interests.
“Finally, we need an urgent sense of responsibility to be adopted by the European Commission, leading to both the investigation and the resolution of the problem.”