MEDICAL groups have agreed for pharmacies to notify healthcare providers early about the possibility of drug shortages so that alternative measures can be arranged. 

This was one of several measures drawn up to address the current drug shortage, the Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM) and Pharmaceutical Association of Malaysia (Phama) said in a joint statement today.

They said the two groups have recently held a dialogue and come up with six commitments to allay the medicines shortfall.

Early warning to healthcare providers of a shortage of a certain product will allow for alternative measures to be put in place, they said 

“The notification mechanism will include other stakeholders such as National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Authority (NPRA), the Health Ministry, and Malaysian Medical Association for effective communications”, they said. 

They also agreed that products at risk of discontinuation should be made known to healthcare providers in advance so that contingency plans can be made.

Other measures agreed upon included improved coordination between all parties to ease borrowing of medicines in times of critical shortages, as well as digitisation to speed up processes.

“Both associations will work together in engaging with the pharmacy services programme and NPRA to improve access to medicines to patients.

“We will also have continuous engagement on medicine pricing and health financing in view of the significant increases in cost of logistics, active pharmaceutical ingredients, labour and others.”

Earlier this month, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the country was facing drug shortages, especially for over-the-counter medicines such as antibiotics, paediatric medications and cough syrups.

He said the shortage was mainly due to supply chain disruptions, which had caused delays in shipment.

He said short supplies of paracetamol and vitamin C were mainly due to shortages in raw materials, Covid disruptions, and an increase in demand following the Omicron wave. – July 6, 2022.