Drug shortages seen as less likely in Canada: study
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When global drug supply chain issues crop up, they are 40% less likely to result in a meaningful drug shortage in Canada compared with the U.S., according to findings in JAMA Network.
Why it matters: Shortages are occurring more often and can be incredibly disruptive to U.S. health care, as most recently demonstrated by the IV fluid shortage.
- While there are entrenched reasons why drug supply chain issues turn into shortages, this study indicates there's more that the U.S. could be doing now to alleviate some of the pain.
What they found: University of Toronto and University of Pittsburgh researchers looked at drug-related reports of supply chain issues from 2017 to 2021 that occurred in both Canada and the U.S. around the same time.
- They also looked at resulting shortages, defined as a decline of at least one-third of monthly purchased drug units within a year, compared with the volume purchased during the six months prior to when the supply chain issue cropped up.
- Among the 104 reports seen in both countries, 49% were associated with drug shortages in the U.S. versus 34% in Canada.
- The findings were consistent before and after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, they said.
What they're saying: "There are differences in how we tackle [shortages] and how we can prevent them. I think this is what people are starting to think through, because ... it's a problem that likely can never reach zero, but it's got to be better than what we're doing now," lead author Mina Tadrous, of the University of Toronto, told Axios.
- There is similar mandatory reporting of supply chain breakdowns in both countries, which allows regulators to take steps to mitigate the risk of a true shortage of the drug supply on pharmacy shelves, he said.
- Canada has created more of a structure that brings health systems, payers, manufacturers and regulators together to better coordinate a proactive response, he said.
- That could include more quickly reducing the amount of a drug they're using in certain populations, curtailing off-label use, or importing drugs from abroad, he said.
- "I think the challenge in the U.S. is the fragmentation of the market, and who do you actually bring to this table?" he said.
