23 January 2025
Medicine shortages are having a marked impact on Australian pharmacists, with more than 90% reporting frequent delays in patient treatment due to low stock.
A national survey undertaken by University of South Australia researchers paints a concerning picture: medicine shortages are increasing patient stress as well as pharmacists’ workloads, with 89.5% of pharmacists being forced to source medicines from non-regular wholesalers at least weekly.
The survey, published in the Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research, was undertaken in late 2023 but medicine shortages remain an ongoing issue, according to UniSA lecturer in pharmacy, Dr Jack Janetzki.
“Medicine shortages not only place an operational strain on pharmacists, but also create ethical dilemmas,” Dr Janetzki says. “Pharmacists must navigate between ensuring equitable access and maintaining regulatory compliance, often with limited resources.”
Because more than 90% of medicines are imported into Australia, logistical supply issues during the COVID-19 pandemic severely affected pharmaceutical stocks. While this has eased, social media posts have created a significant demand for weight loss drugs such as Ozempic, where supplies remain low.
The recent increase in diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) has also contributed to shortages of medicines used to treat ADHD. Raw materials to make medications are also in short supply, exacerbated by manufacturing and transportation issues.
Data from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) showed that in November 2023, 444 medicines were in short supply in Australia, 47% of which had been difficult to obtain since the beginning of 2022.
Although some of these shortages have been resolved in the past 12 months, 419 medicines are currently on this list, with supplies for 61 of them expected to be impacted in the next few months and years.
When facing restrictions, pharmacists have limited options, Dr Janetzki says.
“They can contact the doctor asking them to prescribe an alternative medicine, approach different wholesalers other than their regular suppliers, or refer the patient to a different pharmacy, hoping they can help them. It’s not an ideal situation.”
A different dosage or medicine strength can only be substituted by contacting the doctor or if it is listed on the TGA’s Serious Scarcity Substitution Instrument (SSI) list.
Dr Janetzki says manufacturing medicines locally is not an easy option to improve supplies because of the high costs of medicine production in Australia, although most pharmacists source raw materials for compound prescriptions tailored to individual patients.
During COVID and in the years since, pharmacists’ responsibilities have also increased. They are now authorised to provide vaccinations and prescribe some medications.
“There are processes that could be trialled to address these medicine shortages,” Dr Janetzki says.
“Maintaining an inventory of medicines across all pharmacies would minimise impacts on customers because staff could quickly identify where medicines are available rather than having to call neighbouring pharmacies to determine whether they have medicines on hand.
“The TGA currently requires drug companies to notify them of expected medicine shortages six months in advance, but it would also help if there was anticipatory approval of overseas medicines for critical medicines. This would minimise the time people need to wait to access their medicines during a shortage of medicines registered in Australia.”
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Media contact: Candy Gibson M: +61 434 605 142 E: candy.gibson@unisa.edu.au
Researcher contact: Dr Jack Janetzki E: jack.janetzki@unisa.edu.au
