Exploring the Experiences of Pharmacists with Drug Shortages in the UK
Authors: Obiedalla M T O , Patel N 
Published: November 2023

Introduction

Drugs can become short in supply for many reasons including increased demand and reduced production1. Drug shortages have the potential to impact patients and pharmacists. A recent study reported pharmacists spending up to 11 hours per week dealing with drug shortages2. However, the overall impact of experiencing and dealing with drug shortages on pharmacists and patients has not been fully investigated, particularly within community pharmacy, an area of practice that has been struggling with drug shortages.

Aim

To highlight the challenges pharmacists face and the constraints within the current system when dealing with drug shortages.

Methods

The study was reviewed and received ethical approval. This was a survey study involving practising community pharmacists in the UK. Pharmacists were invited through social media and professional networks to complete a validated online survey during the period of September to December 2021. Survey data was analysed using descriptive statistics.

Results

100 responses were received from 11 regions in the UK. Eighty three percent of the respondents were experiencing drug shortages 3 or more times per week and more than 70% spent 1-3 hours per week dealing with them. The majority of the respondents (93%, n = 93) indicated that drug shortages were a problem for them and sixty one (n = 100) respondents reported that they had worsened since the start of the pandemic. In addition, sixty five (n = 100) respondents believed that drug shortages had had an impact on patient care. How the respondents dealt with prescriptions for drugs that were in shortage varied with a third (34%) responding they would contact the prescriber and suggest an alternative. The respondents suggested ways for improving the management of drug shortages including giving pharmacists more legal power to change prescriptions, increasing the number of Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) and providing early and transparent communications.

Discussion/Conclusion

Spending time dealing with drug shortages impacts on the pharmacists’ workloads and quality of patient care. There was a variation between how respondents indicated they dealt with drug shortages. Patients should be able to obtain their medicine(s) and pharmacists need to respond in a way that ensures delivery of person-centred care. How pharmacists deal with shortages and why they do this needs further exploration. Some respondents suggested ways to help manage drug shortages. An increase in number of SSP’s may not be the best approach as they can be inflexible and time consuming. Initiatives such as more legal powers have received attention by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) who believes an amendment in law to allow pharmacists to make minor changes to prescriptions affected by drug shortages would improve patient access to medicines and reduce the burden on the healthcare system. This comes at a time when community pharmacists are under pressure to offer services such as minor ailments, blood pressure checks and contraception. Despite the survey being undertaken over a year ago and the small sample size, drug shortages continue to be an issue that impacts community pharmacists, which requires further investigation.

References

1. Bhamra, S. K., Parmar, J., & Heinrich, M. (2021). Impact of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) on the professional practice and personal well-being of community pharmacy teams in the UK. International Journal of Pharmacy Practice, 29(6), 556-565.

2. Burns, C. (2023). Community pharmacies spending twice as much time managing drug shortages as last year. The Pharmaceutical Journal, PJ. Available at: https://pharmaceutical-journal.com/article/news/community-pharmacies-spending-twice-as-much-time-managing-medicines-shortages-as-last-year (accessed: 7 May 2023).