Pharmacy Daily | Drug shortage worsens

AUSTRALIA'S extensive medicine shortages are continuing with more than 400 drugs facing deficits, according to the latest data from the TGA. Speaking to Pharmacy Daily, the Community and Pharmacy Support Group (CAPS) flagged concerns regarding stock availability as a result of the 60-Day Dispensing policy (60DD), which it has strongly fought against since its announcement (PD 18 Aug 2023). Pharmacist and spokesperson for CAPS, Wisam Zoghbi, said, "60DD is worsening the already tenuous levels of stock, which results in patients being randomly affected with no solutions". Pharmacies are facing shortages of critical medications including liquid morphine for aged care patients, famotidine 20mg, scabies treatment cream, Lyclear, liquid macrolide antibiotics for children, and amoxicillin 1gm. Medications like Vyvanse for ADHD patients, hormone replacement therapy patches (HRT), and injectable semaglutide (Ozempic) are either in short supply or entirely unavailable, he added. Zoghbi explained, "the government has run down the prices of many drugs with their PBS funding model, where companies are no longer willing to sponsor a product into Australia, such as liquid morphine". "The replacement is at 10 times the cost, with a limited availability based on how much the sponsor of the product can import into the country to meet increased demand." Zoghbi added pharmacists must be able to able to refuse 60DD in instances where stock shortages are imminent. "HRT patches and Ozempic are the tip of the iceberg, with more to come with the final tranche being released later this year," he said. "There must be provisions to allow for the equal distribution of medicines to ensure all patients are getting the care they deserve." JG

---

The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 27 May 24
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 27 May 24