Medication shortages have become a significant global concern.

Medication shortages can threaten patient safety and increase economic costs, affecting at least half a million patients on average.

Medication shortages are caused by complex factors, including manufacturing issues, high demand, and industry transparency problems.

In the US, 323 drugs were in shortage in the first quarter of 2024, surpassing the 2014 record, with sterile injectable generics being particularly vulnerable.

The FDA attributes drug shortages mainly to manufacturing and quality issues, as well as supply chain gaps and downtime.

Lack of transparency in the pharmaceutical industry hinders the response to drug shortages.

In France, 44% of people faced a drug shortage in 2024, amid 4,925 shortages reported in 2023.

The European Union has proposed a solidarity mechanism and early warning system to address medication shortages.

The World Health Organization's Pandemic Supply Chain Network has helped reduce supply chain disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Artificial intelligence and data analytics can help predict and prevent medication shortages by analyzing supply chain data.

The implementation of AI in healthcare raises concerns about data privacy and security.

Healthcare systems can address medication shortages by implementing centralized procurement, improving coordination, and setting floor prices.

Patient-centered research must include patient and family perspectives and economic outcomes data.

Developing new drugs requires significant investment, highlighting the need to balance cost control with a stable medication supply.

Medication shortages require a multifaceted approach, including international cooperation, improved supply chain management, and technology like AI and data analytics.

Healthcare systems can mitigate medication shortages and ensure patient access to necessary medications by working together and implementing effective strategies.

Drug shortages have increased over the years, reaching a record 323 in 2024.

The causes of drug shortages include manufacturing problems, supply chain gaps, and high demand.

Lack of transparency in the pharmaceutical industry hinders the response to drug shortages.

Some countries have implemented joint procurement to reduce prices and improve access to essential medicines.

AI-powered demand forecasting and real-time data analytics can optimize inventory management and reduce medication shortages.

A Universal Health Insurance Cost Distribution Target System can make drugs more affordable by adjusting prices.

A multi-stakeholder response involving companies, providers, and governments is necessary to manage medication shortages.

The FDA can mitigate shortages by increasing supply and allowing overseas drug imports.

Addressing medication shortages requires a comprehensive approach involving both supply and demand.

Medication shortages, such as the 93% reported shortage of carboplatin in academic cancer centers, can have significant clinical and economic outcomes.

Prices increase by 16.6 percent during drug shortages.

Alternative therapies and treatment options can cause patient anxiety, such as the 44% of people in France facing a drug shortage in 2024.

Medication shortages impact patient care, with 1 in 3 health systems delaying or canceling care.

Medication shortages are caused by manufacturing problems, raw material shortages, and lack of transparency from pharmaceutical companies.

Alternative therapies can lead to changes in patient management, with pharmacists offering therapeutic alternatives during shortages.

Medication shortages affect pharmacies' economies by about 20%.

The impact of alternative therapies on patient care can be evaluated during medication shortages.

The FDA now allows importing chemotherapy drugs from overseas due to alternative therapies and treatment options.

Medication shortage outcomes can be mitigated by improving supply chain management, such as China's centralized procurement approach.

Medication shortages have complex causes, including raw material shortages, manufacturing issues, and lack of transparency from pharmaceutical companies.

Alternative therapies can lead to patients preferring imported insulin over local options.

Medication shortages can threaten patient safety and increase costs, impacting patient care.

Alternative therapies can lead to changes in healthcare policy, addressing medicine supply and demand.

Estonia's drug shortages have worsened this year, but improving supply chain management can help mitigate their clinical and economic impact.

Medication shortages have complex causes, including production problems, ingredient shortages, and sudden demand surges.

Medication shortages, such as the 93% reported shortage of carboplatin in academic cancer centers, can have significant clinical and economic outcomes.

Prices increase by 16.6 percent during drug shortages.

Alternative therapies and treatment options can cause patient anxiety, such as the 44% of people in France facing a drug shortage in 2024.

Medication shortages impact patient care, with 1 in 3 health systems delaying or canceling care.

Medication shortages are caused by manufacturing problems, raw material shortages, and lack of transparency from pharmaceutical companies.

Alternative therapies can lead to changes in patient management, with pharmacists offering therapeutic alternatives during shortages.

Medication shortages affect pharmacies' economies by about 20%.

The impact of alternative therapies on patient care can be evaluated during medication shortages.

The FDA now allows importing chemotherapy drugs from overseas due to alternative therapies and treatment options.

Medication shortage outcomes can be mitigated by improving supply chain management, such as China's centralized procurement approach.

Medication shortages have complex causes, including raw material shortages, manufacturing issues, and lack of transparency from pharmaceutical companies.

Alternative therapies can lead to patients preferring imported insulin over local options.

Medication shortages can threaten patient safety and increase costs, impacting patient care.

Alternative therapies can lead to changes in healthcare policy, addressing medicine supply and demand.

Estonia's drug shortages have worsened this year, but improving supply chain management can help mitigate their clinical and economic impact.

Medication shortages have complex causes, including production problems, ingredient shortages, and sudden demand surges.

Medication shortages, such as the 93% reported shortage of carboplatin in academic cancer centers, can have significant clinical and economic outcomes.

Prices increase by 16.6 percent during drug shortages.

Alternative therapies and treatment options can cause patient anxiety, such as the 44% of people in France facing a drug shortage in 2024.

Medication shortages impact patient care, with 1 in 3 health systems delaying or canceling care.

Medication shortages are caused by manufacturing problems, raw material shortages, and lack of transparency from pharmaceutical companies.

Alternative therapies can lead to changes in patient management, with pharmacists offering therapeutic alternatives during shortages.

Medication shortages affect pharmacies' economies by about 20%.

The impact of alternative therapies on patient care can be evaluated during medication shortages.

Alternative therapies are used.

Medication shortages have become a significant global concern.

Medication shortages have become a significant global concern.

Medication shortages have become a significant global concern.

Medication shortages can threaten patient safety and increase economic costs, affecting at least half a million patients on average.

Title:

Content: General Supervision
Elham Aboul Fath
Editor-in-Chief
Thank you for your patience.
General Supervision
Elham Aboul Fath
Editor-in-Chief
Thank you for your patience.
An Unexpected Catastrophe in the World ’ s Largest Country: The Complete Story of U.S. Drug Shortages
The deficit is at a record level.
According to data from the American Society of Health System Pharmacists and the University of Utah Drug Information Service, organizations began tracking drug shortages for the first time in 2001. Steady since 2021 – now reaching a record high of 323 drugs in the first three months of 2024.
Paul Abramowitz, CEO of the American Society of Health System Pharmacists, wrote in a blog post on Thursday: “It ’ s been a long time to end drug shortages, ” and wrote:“ All drug classes are vulnerable to shortages, some of the most worrisome shortages include sterile injectable generic drugs, including cancer chemotherapy drugs and emergency drugs stored in hospital vans and procedural areas. It is dangerous for doctors and patients. ”
In addition to the 32 chemotherapy drugs that are deficient, the five categories of drugs with the greatest deficiency include central nervous system stimulants, antimicrobials, hormonal agents, and intravenous fluids. [1] The Drug Deficiency Database maintained by the American Society of Health System Pharmacists and the University of Utah is based on voluntary reports from practitioners, patients, and others that have been confirmed by manufacturers. The U.S. drug is in short supply, because it captures broader effects on service providers and patients.
The crisis has lasted a year and a half.
More than half of the treatment shortages have lasted for more than two years, according to an analysis by health consultancy IQVIA, and the average shortage affects at least half a million patients, many of them elderly, according to the US Office of Health and Human Services under the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, which shared its analysis with Congress in May.
Growing demand can play a role in drug shortages, as with the recent shortage of weight-loss drugs, but often manufacturing and quality problems, such as supply chain gaps and downtime, are the root cause. And varied.
But the American Society of Health System Pharmacists has “serious concerns ” about parts of this proposal, especially financial sanctions imposed on hospitals that lack the resources to comply with the recommendations, Abramowitz wrote:“ We all know that managing shortages is not enough and is not a sustainable solution to the worsening crisis, and there is still a lot of work to be done at the federal level to fix the root causes of drug shortages. ”
Why Shortage Occurs
Shortages can be caused by high demand, as with the recent shortage of weight-loss drugs, but this is not usually the main problem.
The FDA also blames manufacturing and quality problems, supply chain gaps, and downtime, and Dr. Emily Tucker, a drug shortage expert and an assistant professor of industrial engineering at Clemson University, says that when there is an indication of shortages, large health systems often also proactively place large orders, adding to the system ’ s stress.
“I don ’ t blame anyone.
“When I talk to all the stakeholders – whether it ’ s wholesalers, manufacturers, or the government – everyone wants this problem to end, ” she said.
Lack of transparency
Dr. Julie Grallo, chief medical officer and executive vice president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, told the House Committee earlier that the shortage puts providers in a terrible position: “The drug shortage crisis is forcing providers to make impossible choices, and it is also hindering the development of new drugs. Health drugs are purchased only on a price basis, and manufacturers do not have to disclose the source of their acquisition of the ingredients.
The shortage of this generic chemical drug came due to the closure of one factory in India that manufactures the active ingredient after a surprise FDA inspection found “significant quality issues, ” says Jarallo:“ We didn ’ t know, and there was no transparency regarding the company ’ s supply of the majority of active pharmaceutical ingredients to all manufacturers across the board.
Knowing this in advance, we could have responded much faster, ” Dr. Steven Schundlemeyer, director of the PRIME Institute of the University of Minnesota School of Pharmacy, which focuses on economic and management issues, told the committee that as with defense contractors in the United States, New Zealand requires manufacturers to disclose their suppliers, and that information is required.
Easily accessible in the database.
Related Topics

Medication shortages are caused by complex factors, including manufacturing issues, high demand, and industry transparency problems.

In the US, 323 drugs were in shortage in the first quarter of 2024, surpassing the 2014 record, with sterile injectable generics being particularly vulnerable.

The FDA attributes drug shortages mainly to manufacturing and quality issues, as well as supply chain gaps and downtime.

Lack of transparency in the pharmaceutical industry hinders the response to drug shortages.

In France, 44% of people faced a drug shortage in 2024, amid 4,925 shortages reported in 2023.

Title:

Content: French health groups put forward proposals to limit the damage of worsening drug shortages

Medicines such as cough syrup, lozenges and ointment are seen on a table in an apartment in Berlin, Tuesday, December 20, 2022. Copyright Stephanie Pilick/dpa via AP
Copyright Stephanie Pilick/dpa via AP
By Lauren Chadwick
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Pharmaceutical companies’ lack of transparency leads to rising drug prices and less control over public resources, the group of health organisations say.

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A group of French organisations have called for more transparency from pharmaceutical companies as drug shortages increase.

In a joint report, 14 civil society organisations outlined their recommendations to solve a “situation that has only worsened” since 2018.

The French medicines regulator signalled 4,925 drug shortages in 2023, compared to 3,761 in 2022 and 2,160 in 2021.

A 2024 survey from France Assos Santé, which represents patients, found that 44 per cent of people in France said they had faced a drug shortage this year.

One of the pharmacy unions in France has even planned a strike at the end of the month over drug shortages and what they say is worsening access to care.

Each health organisation contributed an article with recommendations for dealing with the drug shortages.

The League Against Cancer urged complete transparency on drug shortages and potential substitutions for health professionals.

They also called for monitoring of medicine stocks and their location in the country to guarantee equal access.

The organisation found in a survey published in February that 78 per cent of health professionals in oncology had been faced with a drug shortage.

Drug shortages or delays have led to anxiety among cancer patients, lost time, and worsening symptoms, the organisation said.

France Assos Santé, meanwhile, wrote that an urgent response should not be to support “the industrial sector which bears serious responsibilities” for abandoning the production of less profitable drugs, relocating drug production, and keeping insufficient medicine stocks.

They would like any cost increases justified by production costs or the risk of withdrawing a drug from the market due to it being unprofitable. They called for cost evaluations to be made public.

Their concerns also range from the use of public money to bring drug production to Europe to new government plans to prevent shortages.

Some changes at the EU level criticised

Last year, the European Commission announced several measures to reform the pharmaceutical industry and address critical drug shortages.

The European Parliament went on to adopt a position on pharmaceutical reform last month, that included “incentives for innovation” and an effort to limit overuse of antibiotics.

The non-profit organisation Prescrire, which focuses on information about medicine, wrote in a chapter they contributed to the report that while some of the European Commission’s measures were welcome, others were concerning.

One of the many measures they rejected included the Commission’s proposal to reduce the number of days of scientific evaluation of drugs from 210 to 180, which they said was necessary time rather than an “administrative obstacle”.

While the NGO welcomed some measures such as government drug shortage prevention plans, it said the Commission should allow EU states to require pharmaceutical companies to have safety stocks of medicine and sanction those that do not respect them.

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French consumer organisation UFC-Que Choisir and the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) said that they had hoped MEPs would shorten the length of time for “data protection” to allow generic medicines to be marketed more quickly.

Instead, MEPs approved shortening the period to 7.5 years, “which is almost the same duration as the current 8 years [yet] within the framework of the text adopted by Parliament, companies can gain additional months of protection under certain conditions to reach a total of 8.5 years,” UFC-Que Choisir said.

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The European Union has proposed a solidarity mechanism and early warning system to address medication shortages.

Title:

Content: Brussels is planning for EU countries to share vital medicines and take emergency measures to avoid a repeat of shortages that hit the bloc a year ago.

The European Commission is proposing a “voluntary solidarity mechanism” requested by France and Germany and an early warning system flagging when drugs become scarce, according to draft proposals seen by the Financial Times. If insufficient donors come forward, EU capitals will be allowed to tap into an EU-funded stockpile set up during the Covid-19 pandemic and take other emergency measures.

In December and January western countries suffered a shortage of antibiotics including penicillin and amoxicillin, and painkillers such as paracetamol, especially in medicines used by children.

Among the emergency measures floated to prevent a repeat of that crisis, the commission could allow the extension of a drug’s shelf life, fast track approvals of alternative suppliers and support production increases.

Brussels will also encourage joint procurement of drugs from 2024 and medicine swaps with countries in the southern hemisphere, where peak winter demand happens at a different time.

The commission will draw up guidance for national stockpiles in 2024 and establish a Critical Medicines Alliance bringing governments, industry and civil society together. The commission declined to comment.

Three-quarters of countries reported a worsening of drug shortages in 2022, according to an industry survey. EU manufacturing is heavily reliant on imported active pharmaceutical ingredients from China and India.

Rising demand and disruption to supply chains have been compounded by inflation hitting the production of generic drugs, which typically sell at much lower prices than branded versions.

France has been actively encouraging the reshoring of basic medicine supply, with a giant paracetamol factory set to open in the country next year.

The EU is discussing whether to provide more funding for domestic production.

The commission’s proposal is scheduled to be approved on October 25 and could still change. Initially non-binding, it could lead to a Critical Medicines Act, with Brussels drawing up a list of vital medicines by year-end.

The commission also urges member states and the European parliament to approve its overhaul of pharmaceutical legislation, put forward in April. It includes plans to take control of drug production in the event of a public health emergency, a requirement for stockholders to inform Brussels of supply levels and for manufacturers to give early warnings of shortages.

An analysis by the European Medicines Agency and the commission found that unless there is unexpected demand the EU should avoid an antibiotics shortage this year.

“The information available today suggests that — if demand in the coming winter season does not differ significantly from the demand of recent years — the supply to the EU of key antibiotics seems to generally match demand,” the analysis said.

“However, this depends strongly on the compliance of industry with their legal obligations to ensure supply and their ability to adapt.”

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2023. All rights reserved.
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The World Health Organization's Pandemic Supply Chain Network has helped reduce supply chain disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Title:

Content: 7 essentials to create a resilient global healthcare supply chain

  • SARS, Ebola and COVID-19 have tested the world’s ability to deal with outbreaks and pandemics.
  • A global pandemic preparedness system needs sustained political will and investment to ensure the global healthcare supply chain can effectively respond to a crisis.
  • If we don’t get serious about pandemic preparedness now, millions more lives will be at stake.

It was 20 years ago, when the SARS outbreak exposed key fragilities in the global healthcare supply chain, that people internationally began to talk seriously about pandemic preparedness.

Eight years ago, when the Ebola outbreak proved the world no better prepared to address outbreaks, there was more talk and some action. This included the founding of the Pandemic Supply Chain Network (PSCN), by the World Health Organization, World Economic Forum, World Bank, World Food Programme, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Henry Schein and more than 60 companies. The PSCN was established to make it easier to anticipate and respond to global healthcare supply chain disruptions.

Yet today, nearly three years into the COVID-19 pandemic – the worst global health crisis in a century – many of the same supply-chain fragilities remain. Although partnerships, such as the PSCN, and national efforts somewhat blunted the severity of supply chain disruptions during the pandemic, the effort to develop a global pandemic preparedness system has yet to garner the sustained political will and investment needed to ensure that the global healthcare supply chain can effectively respond to a crisis.

3. Improved stockpiles and inventory management

In addition to enhancing stockpiles of personal protective equipment (PPE) at the local, regional and national levels, we must manage inventory more intelligently – from cycling inventory to deal with product expiry to coordinating and harmonising responses across jurisdictions.

4. Platforms for data sharing and enhanced transparency

Through the globally-focused PSCN and various national efforts, including the US Supply Chain Control Tower, Henry Schein has been working across sectors to support the creation of market intelligence platforms that enable the appropriate sharing of real-time supply chain data. While progress has been made, encouraging responsible information sharing across public and private partners requires significant additional funding.

5. Fostering the free flow of goods

Over the past three years, government restrictions on exports played a significant role in exacerbating product distribution shortages. While the desire of governments to protect their populations in times of crisis is understandable, international cooperation to allow the free flow of key products lessens the risk of panic buying, hoarding and, ultimately, viral spread.

6. Coordinated early-warning system for outbreaks

Detecting the next outbreak early is essential to mitigating its impact, protecting global healthcare supply chains and saving lives. Strengthening our global surveillance capacity requires significant investment and better coordination across governments, international organizations and the private sector.

7. Strengthened health systems and better primary care

As Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, famously said: “Universal health coverage and health emergencies are cousins — two sides of the same coin.” Major and sustained investment is needed if we are to reap the benefits of expanded access to care.

Let’s conclude with another number: one. This is the number of viruses it could take to shut down our world again. If ever there was an issue to unite us – one for which we all share the same risk – pandemic preparedness is it. If we don’t get serious now, millions more lives are surely at stake.

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Artificial intelligence and data analytics can help predict and prevent medication shortages by analyzing supply chain data.

Title:

Content: Medical AI is not to help patients see a doctor, but to assist doctors to implement a more complete medical process; even through continuous learning and evolution, to meet the medical system and regulations of different countries, to form a customized medical AI.
In recent years, the most popular topic of concern is the emergence of digital medical trend built by Bio + ICT, and the more sophisticated medical neural network, artificial intelligence (AI), has entered the early stage, but there are still many unmet medical needs, and more than five years since its establishment, there have been several products on the market. Changjia Intelligence has been at the forefront of medical AI, and has built medical AI that is more close to clinical needs and more in line with different national medical systems and processes, breaking through the existing framework, and making response and contingency plans for future regulatory adjustments and progress.
Medical AI “Values ” to be discovered
The global AI medical market has reached US $4.9 billion in 2020, and Markets and Markets expects to grow to US $45.2 billion by 2026, with an annual compound growth rate of 45%. The growth momentum comes from several aspects, one is the continuous increase in data volume and complexity of data sets (including new diagnostic devices and sensors, driving the demand for AI); the other is The third is the shortage of medical resources caused by an aging population; and finally, the introduction of AI into new drug research and development by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
As mentioned earlier, because AI can rapidly analyze huge amounts of biological science information, including genes, molecular / protein structures, patents, biologic journals, and databases, etc., greatly accelerating the discovery of candidate drugs, drug development is currently the most important application, accounting for up to 28%; and medical image recognition and diagnosis, accounting for 24%. This is because image interpretation is the most mature application of AI, and the accuracy is not far from that of human doctors.
At present, although a considerable number of medical AI products have entered the international market, most people still have the myth of medical AI, thinking that "medical AI is to help patients diagnose and treat". In fact, the biggest function of medical AI is to assist doctors to interpret and formulate treatment strategies, not to replace the natural duty of doctors. After the operation, the result was that the vital signs were unstable, and the process was quite complicated. Although the final operation was successful, it was still proposed by the hospital to conduct a medical review. The result was that when the emergency patient came in, there was an X-ray, and there was a small pneumothorax in the X-ray, which was very dangerous for anesthesia and intubation.
Of course, there are many structural factors, and doctors are not gods and need to rest, but with a sleepless AI, all possible risk assessments will be revealed, so that errors in the medical process can be avoided.
Medical AI R & D tends to be customized
For example, the radiation oncology department, when carrying out the treatment plan, must outline the tumor around the organ, this is a meticulous work, if there is AI can help to do a lot of similar things, not only outline the precision but also very complete, the doctor can have more time to think and help the patient formulate the medical process.
A lot of medical AI is a problem faced by doctors in clinical diagnosis, which has developed in line with the value of medical AI.
In other words, medical AI is like a doctor ’ s assistant, not only fast, accurate, and even able to achieve the effect of warning in advance, taking a long time to look at the overall medical process cost is still cheap.
For the full text and chart, please refer to "Investment Weekly 2231-2232 Joint Issue".
# Changjia Intelligence # Medical # Doctor # Patient # Several

The implementation of AI in healthcare raises concerns about data privacy and security.

Title:

Content: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping various sectors, including public health. This technological revolution promises to bring significant improvements in efficiency, effectiveness, and equity to health promotion and healthcare delivery.

One area where AI has a profound impact is disease surveillance and outbreak prediction. By analyzing vast amounts of data from diverse sources, including social media, AI algorithms can predict disease outbreaks before they occur. This predictive capability allows public health officials to implement preventive measures proactively, reducing the disease burden and saving lives.

AI also plays a pivotal role in health promotion by providing personalized recommendations. By analyzing an individual’s health data, lifestyle habits, and genetic information, AI algorithms can offer tailored advice on diet, exercise, and other health behaviors. This personalized approach increases the likelihood of better health outcomes since people are more likely to follow advice customized to their needs and preferences.

Furthermore, AI can address health disparities by identifying patterns and trends in health data that indicate disparities among different population groups. Through this analysis, AI helps public health officials target interventions more effectively and allocate resources where they are needed most.

In addition, AI improves the efficiency of healthcare delivery. Routine tasks like patient triage and appointment scheduling can be performed by AI algorithms, freeing up healthcare professionals to focus on more complex tasks. AI can also aid in diagnostics by analyzing medical images and patient data, enabling early disease detection and treatment, ultimately leading to improved patient outcomes and reduced healthcare costs.

Despite its potential, integrating AI into public health has challenges that must be addressed. Concerns about data privacy and security arise since AI algorithms require access to sensitive health data. Additionally, if AI algorithms are trained on data that isn’t representative of the entire population, there is a risk of producing biased results that disadvantage certain groups, potentially exacerbating health disparities.

Despite these challenges, the potential benefits of AI in public health are too significant to overlook. Collaboration between public health officials, AI researchers, healthcare providers, and policymakers is essential. By addressing challenges head-on, we can harness the power of AI to improve public health, creating a healthier and more equitable future.

Healthcare systems can address medication shortages by implementing centralized procurement, improving coordination, and setting floor prices.

Title:

Content: Health · Life
Promote drug collection and make quality medical care accessible
April 06, 2023 08: 17 Source: Guangming Daily
Recently, the eighth batch of state organizations concerned about the centralized procurement of drugs to produce the results of the selection, a total of 39 drugs were successfully procured. The average price of the selected drugs was reduced by 56%, which is expected to save 16.7 billion yuan per year.
Among them, the average price of the oseltamican phosphate suspension for treating influenza A was 83%, and the price of the commonly used antihypertensive drug amlodipine atorvastatin calcium tablets was 48%.
An average of 6.5 enterprises per variety were selected, and the supply diversification and stability were further enhanced.
Previously, the National Medical Insurance Bureau has collected 7 batches of 294 drugs, with an average price reduction of more than 50%, and the average price reduction of 3 batches of 4 types of consumables by more than 80%; superimposed by local alliances, the cumulative reduction of drug consumption exceeded 400 billion yuan.
The central procurement of drugs has brought tangible benefits to the people, and the proportion of patients who use high-quality drugs from concentrated varieties has increased from 50% to more than 90%, the problem of "expensive medical care" has been significantly alleviated, and the "medical care money" and "life-saving money" of the people have been better protected.
Medical equity is an important symbol of social equity.
Not allowing patients to lose hope of recovering their health due to economic reasons is the simple wish of the majority of medical workers, and it is also the direction of the government's efforts to improve the health of the people.
Since the introduction of centralized procurement of drugs, the price of a large number of drugs has been significantly reduced, and the economic burden on patients to see doctors has dropped significantly.
Among them, there are drugs for common diseases such as influenza and hypertension, which benefit patients with daily drug needs; and special drugs for rare diseases, which bring hope to minority groups.
When the staff of the medical insurance department "soul bargain", they said that "every small group should not be abandoned", which moved countless people and made the people feel, feel happy and feel more secure.
The former "sky-high drug" has now become an affordable drug for ordinary people, which cannot be separated from the solid work of the medical insurance department.
Of course, the "price cutting" process does not only occur in face-to-face negotiations, not only in news reports.
In order to reduce the price of drugs to an ideal level and achieve the "win-win" of the business interests of pharmaceutical companies and the public interest, it is necessary to understand the actual cost of drug research and development and production through in-depth research, and prepare for the "bottom price" that can be accepted by all parties.
It should be pointed out that the far-reaching significance of promoting the centralized procurement of drugs is not only limited to the unilateral "profits" of pharmaceutical companies.
We will strengthen the driving force of enterprises to engage in new drug research and development, and promote enterprises to emphasize innovation and quality.
If enterprises lack quality products, they may be "left behind" in the development process and eliminated by the market.
Relevant departments have also issued specific documents to strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights in the field of centralized procurement of medicines, and encourage innovation and fair competition in the pharmaceutical industry.
The centralized procurement of drugs also helps to solve the problem of "selling with gold".
In the past, pharmaceutical representatives of pharmaceutical companies shuttled through various medical institutions, allowing hospitals to increase their product purchases and doctors to prescribe more drugs through rebates.
This phenomenon has increased the medical burden of patients, resulting in a large loss of health insurance funds.
As a "group purchase" organized by the state, "there are no middlemen to earn the difference", which helps eliminate the chaos in the field of drug distribution and sales from the source.
After the price of drugs has been lowered, there is still much work to be done to enable the people to enjoy quality medical services.
For example, some pharmaceutical companies have cut off supplies in the collection because of lack of cost awareness, or insufficient production capacity, leading to a "drug shortage" in some places and some hospitals.
The State Medical Insurance Bureau has clearly requested that enterprises that cannot supply according to the requirements be given a corresponding credit rating according to the circumstances.
At the same time, the same variety is encouraged to be selected by a number of enterprises, and the supply mode of "one main and two standby" is adopted for clinical emergency drugs and drugs in shortage.
With the institutionalization of collection and collection, while solving the problem of high prices of drugs and medical consumables, it is also necessary to ensure the quality of drugs.
For the generic drugs that have been approved for market, the state requires them to carry out evaluation of the consistency of the quality and efficacy of the original research drugs, so that they can replace the original research drugs in the clinic.
Drug collection "price reduction, not quality reduction", the majority of patients seek medical treatment more assured, everyone's beautiful vision of health will continue to become a reality.
(Author: Wang Zhong, a media commentator)
(Editor: Sun Hongli, Yang Di)
Related News

Title:

Content: Lack of medicines in MOH hospitals and accumulation of indebtedness Repercussions / solutions
3 hours ago
Dr. Naeem Malkawi
The problem of shortage of medicines in Jordanian hospitals requires quick and effective attention and intervention, as providing medicines to patients is one of the foundations of quality health care and one of the most important strategies of the Ministry of Health, however, the shortage of medicines in many hospitals leads to health, economic and social challenges that threaten the quality of health care and patient safety.
The budget of the Ministry of Health of medicines, vaccines, vaccines and medical consumables for this year 2023 was estimated at 103.75 million dinars, where the actual for the past year 2022 was 93.8 million dinars.
The question is, how did the Ministry of Health accumulate such a large indebtedness in the item of medicines to reach 300 million dinars for pharmaceutical companies?
And why last week was the debt of 2019 cleared and deducted estimated at 50% of the debt for that year?
This means that there is still a delay in the payment of dues for companies for the years 2020, 2021 and 2022 in addition to eight months of the current year 2023, and this brings us to a range of reasons and challenges:
1.
The aim of the Ministry of Health was to reduce the bureaucracy of procedures and overcome the complexity of procurement references in hospitals and health directorates in the governorates and not to obtain price and discount preferences, but the results indicate a defect in the management and mechanism of dealing with the strategy of unified and central procurement, despite the margin for hospital administrations to use the power of direct purchase in cases of necessity.
2.
Preparation of sub-budgets for hospitals: Evidence shows that there is a problem in the preparation of sub-budgets for hospitals and the main budget of the Ministry of Health with regard to the item of medicines, which is due to the lack of accurate and sufficient data on the number of patients and hospital needs of medicines, and the lack of accurate forecasting of future needs.
3.
Delays in the review of financial claims and invoices between the Ministry of Health and the hospitals on the one hand and the pharmaceutical companies on the other hand, is one of the most important reasons behind the accumulation of indebtedness, and this negatively affects the liquidity of the pharmaceutical companies and hinders them from providing a sustainable service in adhering to the procedures of supplying medicines according to schedule.
4.
Lack of coordination and communication: There may be a lack of coordination and communication between hospitals, the Ministry of Health and pharmaceutical companies, which complicates the supply and distribution of medicines and increases the chances of delays and the depletion of medicines from hospitals in the absence of an effective policy for stock management and the time required for stock adequacy.
5.
Focusing on the trade names of certain drugs from specific production sources and not adopting the protocol of writing the scientific name for the prescriptions of patients.
6.
One of the reasons that may be major and important at the same time is the funding aspect and the lack of the necessary allocations or use them in other aspects other than medicines to fill a deficit or emergency during the use of budget items due to the scarcity of available liquidity. Medication.
Lack of medication can lead to:
1.
Threat to patient safety: Lack of medication puts sick people at risk, as this can lead to delays in receiving necessary treatment or the unavailability of vital drugs, putting their lives at risk.
2.
Economic Implications: The lack of medicines entails additional economic costs for the health system and patients.
Medical cases may be referred to other medical centers or private hospitals, increasing pressure on other MOH budget items.
3.
Pressure on health care workers: Health care workers are under pressure as a result of dealing with patients affected by drug shortages and repeatedly facing their inquiries and complaints.
4.
Social repercussions:
Increased anxiety and stress: A lack of medication can lead to an increase in anxiety and stress among patients and their families, as they live in uncertainty about the availability of the necessary treatment.
Lack of medication can affect the level of trust in the health system among citizens, who may feel that the system is unable to provide them with adequate health care.
Increased costs and social burdens: Some patients may have to incur additional costs to obtain drugs from other sources outside hospitals, affecting their financial and economic status.
After all this narrative there must be ways to overcome these dilemmas:
1.
Preparation of budgets scientifically and professionally: Hospitals should develop more accurate standards for the preparation of sub-budgets for medicines, through the analysis of previous data, estimation of future needs and other scientific and methodological foundations in the preparation of budgets and commitment to apply them accurately.
2.
Improve coordination and communication between parties: Coordination between the Ministry of Health, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies should be strengthened through the establishment of structured mechanisms for information exchange, review of invoices, and completion of claims, and not delay them.
3.
Implementation of fiscal reforms: The Government and the Ministry of Health should implement fiscal reforms that provide funding to cover this important item and pay dues in a timely manner, reduce bureaucracy in the financial audit process, and proceed with payment procedures within the timetable mechanism agreed in the tender terms.
4.
Achieving social responsibility: The government and pharmaceutical companies should adopt a social responsibility towards patients by providing these drugs and reducing their prices in the market to make them more accessible to patients while relieving part of the pressure and burden on hospitals.
Addressing the problem of drug shortages in government hospitals requires comprehensive cooperation between all concerned parties from government, Ministry of Health, hospitals, drug suppliers and patients.
To provide medicines on a permanent basis and to ensure the provision of high quality health care to the Jordanian patient.

Title:

Content: There is a shortage of Chinese and Western medicines in the country, and there is a shortage of Punacao, the antibiotic ammonicillin, the acid-making agent magnesium oxide, and so on.
At present, the Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to establish a "shortage of drugs center", and the National Health Insurance Administration also invited the medical community, pharmaceutical companies, etc., to meet, it is generally deduced that the price of drugs is low, the lack of profit incentives, resulting in a reduction in the production willingness of pharmaceutical companies, which directly affects the stable supply of drugs.
Cai Mingzhong, chairman of the Kuomintang Medical Committee, said that in order to solve this problem, Shi Chongliang, director of the National Health Insurance Administration, proposed to ensure the necessary "directive drugs", and should set a "floor price" according to the prescription drugs to protect the basic profits of the drugs and avoid impacting the market supply.
He observed that Taiwan's "prescription drugs" in the past 1 or 2 years have set a floor price (at least 2 yuan or 1.5 yuan), the results are good, such a model should be transplanted to the common needs of the public "indication of drugs" items, the same set of "floor prices", to improve the industry's production willingness, is indeed one of the necessary measures to avoid market shortage of drugs, should be supported.
On March 18, 2019, the National Health Insurance Administration issued a press release saying that since the second generation of health insurance is on the road, the "Drug Expenses Target System" (DET) has been piloted in accordance with the law. A small number of pharmaceutical companies claim that the price of health insurance is not enough to cover the cost. The NHI is willing to continue to communicate and actively review the calculation formula of DET on the premise of ensuring the rights and interests of the public with drugs, so that the pharmaceutical industry has a reasonable living space.
However, Tsai Ming-chung believes that even if DET continues to carry out, the effect of suppressing the continuous expansion of drug costs will gradually become blunt with time. As for the cost of DET, it will become a burden for the medical sector.
# Drugs # DET # Lack of Drugs # Floor Price # Health Insurance Department

Patient-centered research must include patient and family perspectives and economic outcomes data.

Title:

Content: Newswise — November 14, 2023 A special supplemental issue of Medical Care, sponsored by the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, supports the growing recognition that economic factors often affect health outcomes, patient decision-making, and equity in health care. Medical Care, the official journal of the Medical Care Section of the American Public Health Association, is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

The scope of patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR) was expanded to include economic outcomes in the 2019 reauthorization of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund.  Congress recognized the importance of the "potential burdens and economic impacts of medical treatments, items, and services" in PCOR studies, Scott R. Smith, PhD and colleagues explain in an introduction to the supplement. Dr. Smith is the Director of the Division of Health Care Quality and Outcomes in the ASPE Office of Health Policy.

In response to the new mandate, ASPE and its partner agencies set the objective of "improving the availability, quality, and relevance of data on economic outcomes." The eleven invited papers in the special issue draw on themes that emerged from an ASPE-sponsored symposium.

Data on trade-offs in family decision-making about health care is a key need

One paper reports on telephone interviews with 59 commercially insured adults who had asthma and/or had a child with asthma, conducted by Alison A. Galbraith, MD, MPH, a health researcher at the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, and colleagues. They found participants reported paying for asthma care sometimes at the expense of their family's overall financial well-being.

Specifically, participants described making trade-offs between asthma care and other needs based on short-term needs versus longer-term financial health, needs of children over adults, acuity of the condition, effectiveness of treatment, and availability of lower-cost alternatives.

PCOR studies "should include family members and consider intrafamilial trade-offs," the authors conclude. Quantitative measurement “requires linking individual patient data into family units based on shared insurance, address, or birth records, or using household panel surveys.”

Other implications of these findings, Dr. Galbraith's group says, are the need to measure nonmedical economic outcomes (e.g., unpaid bills, debt, depleted savings, missed housing payments, and food insecurity); measure out-of-pocket health care costs; use longitudinal micro-costing to capture temporary financial crises; and track economic well-being over longer periods.

Some of the other papers in the supplement discuss:

  • Collecting economic outcomes data on people with intellectual disabilities and cancer patients
  • Linking federally funded administrative and survey data sources to Medicare fee-for-service claims to increase the range of potential outcomes in PCOR studies
  • Coupling Medicare and Medicaid databases in North Carolina to facilitate evaluation of health equity
  • Developing a Medicare dataset for studying medication nonadherence due to cost
  • Linking a state-level all-payer claims database in Colorado with a cancer registry
  • Efforts to strengthen the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network (PCORnet)
  • A synthesis of the discussions at the symposium, including initial recommendations

Dr. Smith and his co-authors comment that although the articles in the special issue highlight the potential benefits from improved data capacity for economic outcomes in PCOR, "they also make it clear that much work needs to be done—particularly in supporting the paradigm shift within health economics research to include the perspectives of patients and families."

Read Supplement

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About Medical Care

Rated as one of the top ten journals in healthcare administration, Medical Care is devoted to all aspects of the administration and delivery of healthcare. This scholarly journal publishes original, peer-reviewed papers documenting the most current developments related to the research, planning, organization, financing, provision, and evaluation of health services.

About The American Public Health Association

The American Public Health Association is the only organization that combines a 150-year perspective, a broad-based member community, and the ability to influence policy to improve the public's health. The Member Care section advocates for strengthening the social, economic, and environmental conditions that preserve and enhance health as well as a medical care system that assures high-quality care, accessible preventive medicine, and cultural sensitivity for all.

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Wolters Kluwer (EURONEXT: WKL) is a global leader in professional information, software solutions, and services for the healthcare, tax and accounting, financial and corporate compliance, legal and regulatory, and corporate performance and ESG sectors. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with specialized technology and services. Wolters Kluwer reported 2022 annual revenues of €5.5 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 20,000 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands.

Journal Link: Medical Care

Developing new drugs requires significant investment, highlighting the need to balance cost control with a stable medication supply.

Title:

Content: Health · Life
How to explore a more scientific drug pricing mechanism
March 07, 2022 08: 47 Source: Beijing Youth Daily
In December last year, medical insurance negotiators and drug companies representatives of the "soul bargain" video once caused heated discussion, as more and more drugs entered the collection after a sharp price reduction, many patients used "life-saving drugs", see the hope of life.
In February this year, the seventh batch of national drug collection work was officially launched.
This year's government work report also pointed out that China will continue to improve the capacity of medical and health services, to promote the centralized procurement of drugs and high-value medical consumables, and to strengthen the protection of rare diseases.
A number of deputies and CPPCC members were interviewed by Beijing Youth Daily reporters and offered suggestions and suggestions on the issue of drug collection and drug use for rare diseases.
NPC deputy Ge Minghua
Recommend that the government further expand the range of collectible varieties
Ge Minghua, a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC) and president of Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, said that the collection of drugs has enabled patients to enjoy real benefits, and also allows hospitals and doctors to devote more energy to improving medical technology and service levels.
He believes that pooling can also force companies to focus more on improving product quality to cope with competition.
He suggested that the government further expand the range of collected varieties, while actively supporting enterprise innovation, especially original research.
As president of the People's Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Ge Minghua has direct contact with drug collection and collection work, and he is very much in favor of this.
Ge Minghua said that a significant change in hospitals after drug collection is that hospitals are easier to manage medical behavior and quality, drug abuse problems will be further reduced, doctors' adherence to treatment standards and guidelines will be stronger, and treatment will be more standardized, thus further reducing the burden on patients.
At present, many of the types of drugs included in the collection are for basic medical needs.
Ge Minghua believes that any work needs to be gradual and orderly, "starting with common diseases, can allow more people to benefit and meet the basic needs of the policy."
After a period of exploration, "the collection of high-priced drugs has also begun, which will certainly benefit more and more ordinary people, and the radiation area is wider."
Some people worry that after the decline in drug prices, the factory and chamber of commerce will not cut corners and lead to drug quality not being guaranteed? Ge Minghua believes that after drug collection, the decline in drug prices will lead to a small profit space for single or single box of drugs, but collection can achieve a volume of supplement.
At the same time, mining not only pay attention to price, but also pay attention to quality, after mining, enterprises will be more focused on improving quality in the face of more fierce competition.
In order to ensure the orderly supply of medicines, he also suggested that the government and enterprises establish more communication mechanisms and explore more scientific pricing mechanisms.
Ge Minghua in particular suggested that the relevant government departments should further strengthen supervision, "drugs are used to save lives, quality is very critical, sloppy can not."
Ge Minghua suggested that in the future, pharmaceutical companies should strengthen their awareness of innovation and development, increase investment in scientific research, make full use of the advantages of disease sources to actively carry out domestic and even international multi-center clinical research, and accelerate the listing and application of new products.
Government departments and medical institutions need to further support the construction of national brands, strengthen benign interaction with enterprises, and pool efforts for more Chinese pharmaceutical companies and China's leading international pharmaceutical companies.
CPPCC National Committee Member Ma Jin
It is recommended to carry out sampling tests on conventional drug collections.
Ma Jin, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and a full-time deputy chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Zhigong Party, said in an interview with the Beiqing Daily that the drug collection system can squeeze out price water and promote the three aspects of medical care, medicine and medical insurance to go in the right direction.
Ma Jin said that for pharmaceutical companies, the market is optimized through collection, the good enterprises are left behind, and some enterprises with poor production capacity and product quality are eliminated.
From the perspective of medical insurance, after the price of drugs has been reduced, the purpose of strategic purchase of medical insurance has also been achieved, and patients have purchased cheaper and better drugs.
Therefore, the collection has indeed promoted the reform of China's medical system, realizing the "three-industry linkage", and the three aspects of medical care, medicine and medical insurance are all going in the right direction, so that patients can spend less money to obtain more and better medical services.
For the possible problems after collection, Ma Jin believes that, first, some enterprises may not keep up with the production capacity, in order to improve the production capacity, pharmaceutical factories in order to ensure the output after the bid, may be through the acquisition and merger of other enterprises to help it produce.
Second, the doctor's diagnosis and treatment habits may change, there are good changes, but also some drawbacks.
Avoiding excessive medical treatment is positive, but will doctors choose more expensive alternative therapies that are not included in the collection? This requires further improvement of supervision and supervision, and cannot "press the gourd to float."
At present, it is required to estimate the total procurement volume according to 60 to 70 percent of the total annual drug use in public medical institutions.
Because of the complexity of the disease, some patients do need to use non-collection of drugs, then should have different provisions for different hospitals, to solve the contradiction between universality and specificity.
Finally, the centralized procurement of drugs is to reduce the burden of drugs on patients, but also to ensure that their health is also improved, and long-term follow-up research is required.
After collection, what is the impact of this drug on the health of patients? This work should be done to further improve the policy.
In the rare disease drug, Ma Jin believes that the "orphan drug" problem can not be solved by the government and medical insurance alone, and social forces need to be used to solve the expensive plight of rare patients through multi-channel financing, "the orphan drug fund for rare patients can be established to alleviate the financial burden of patients."
CPPCC National Committee member Fang Laiying
Co-ordinating commercial insurance and other forces to crack rare diseases drugs are expensive
Fang Laiying, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and vice president of the Chinese Hospital Association, praised the system.
He believes that in addition to reducing drug prices, drug collection can also promote the professional development of pharmaceutical enterprises, drive enterprise innovation, and help improve the ability to pay for medical insurance.
"Many of the drugs collected are first-line drugs, which will help promote scientific drug use in hospitals," he said.
From the point of view of the medical insurance fund, the decline in drug prices has also increased the ability to pay for medical insurance.
"For example, the original 100 yuan can only pay for two boxes, and after the price adjustment, 100 yuan can pay for three or four boxes."
At the same time, the money saved will gradually cover more drugs. "
After the decline in drug prices, how can the quality of drugs be effectively guaranteed? For this problem, Fang Laiying said, the existence of drug regulatory departments will play this role, if drugs do not meet the national standards, they can not be listed for sale.
Of course, "ten fingers are not the same fine", even after the consistency evaluation, there must be quality differences between different products, which is inevitable, "but we emphasize that when the quality of drugs meets the national quality standards, this is acceptable, and the quality is also guaranteed by the drug regulatory authorities."
At present, the price of rare disease treatment drugs is generally high, and there are many voices calling for rare disease treatment drugs to be included in medical insurance, which is also a new problem that medical insurance and drug collection may face.
Fang Laiying said that although there is serious illness medical insurance, but with the progress of the industry, in the next few years, there will still be new drugs and treatment methods, and these drugs and treatment methods can not be cheap as soon as they appear.
Overall, the use of drugs for rare diseases is very low, and it may not be possible to form large-scale production and sales in a certain area.
How to solve the problem?
Fang said, "National health insurance alone may not be realistic, when thinking about how to let patients get these services earlier, you can mobilize social forces, consider the national health insurance, commercial insurance, various charitable funds, public welfare organizations, etc., to coordinate the design, from different angles, so that the latest scientific research results can benefit ordinary patients as quickly as possible."
CPPCC National Committee member Lu Hongbing
Long tolerance period for independent research and development of new drugs
"It is recommended to refine and optimize the national collection policy, and give enterprises special attention and treatment for independent research and development of new drugs, especially biomedicine."
Lu Hongbing said that since a stage, the stock prices of listed companies related to biomedicine have continued to decline.
Since the research and development process of independent innovative drugs is very long and the investment cost is very high, it is possible to develop an innovative drug with "ten billion US dollars" in the international community to develop an innovative drug, and innovative drug investment has the risk of "nine lives".
If these problems are not resolved at the institutional level, they will hamper the progress and development of a country in this field in the long run. "
He suggested that more detailed collection policies should be formulated to fully protect and promote the research and development of independent innovative drugs in China.
“For enterprises that meet the cutting-edge innovative technology to independently research and develop new drugs, especially biomedicine, a longer tolerance period is given. It is up to the enterprises to independently decide whether to enter the centralized procurement catalog and enter the price discount space of the centralized procurement catalog, so as to encourage more market players to invest in innovative drug development and encourage global scientific and technological talents to gather in Chinese innovative drug companies. ”
He also suggested that “in terms of innovative drugs, we should give full consideration to the early investment of drugs with long R & D cycles and large R & D investment, and encourage and support innovative drug companies from the perspective of recovering investment and obtaining certain benefits in certain years when purchasing and pricing. ”
In addition, Lu Hongbing said, "In the future world competition pattern, competition in the field of life and health is not only related to the life and health of the people, but also related to the country's economic development and social progress, among which the innovation and development of biomedicine and biotechnology is the key."
Stem cell and gene technology is an indispensable technology core for the innovation and development of biomedicine. “With the improvement of people ’ s living standards, the aging society has brought high incidence of tumors and degenerative diseases.
Member of the National Committee of the CPPCC Yu Xinwei
It is recommended to start collecting dental consumables nationwide and include them in medical insurance.
For a long time, the high cost of dental implants has been making many dental patients directly call "meat pain".
Yu Xinwei, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, vice chairman of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee of the People's Republic of China, paid special attention to the price of dental implants, and suggested starting the national collection of dental consumables and including medical insurance to promote the high-quality development of China's oral industry chain.
At the beginning of this year, the executive meeting of the State Council decided to institutionalize the centralized procurement of drugs and high-value medical consumables, especially the collection of dental consumables at the provincial level, but the current joint collection and production between provinces is slow.
Yu Xinwei analysis, the high price of dental implants is mainly caused by the procurement mode, that is, the bidding, the circulation link is pushed up, the proportion of imported brands is high, the circulation link is more, the factory price of imported implants is 600 to 2000 yuan, and the hospital is often quadrupled, forming a distorted dental price system.
The purpose of collecting and mining is to remove the middlemen and extrude the price water in exchange for the quantity.
At present, the collection and mining of the oral implant system of the inter-provincial alliance led by Sichuan Province has completed the information declaration and the reporting of the historical use of hospitals, requiring all public hospitals to report historical procurement data, but the actual progress can not be carried out according to the original plan.
In addition, in terms of industry development, Yu Xinwei found that dental implant consumables have inhibited the development of China's oral industry in the "neck" field.
Due to the exemption from medical insurance and centralized control, the dental implant consumer medical industry has developed rapidly, forming an industrial chain of equipment consumables - information services - medical terminals.
The excessive price inhibits market development, the competitiveness of domestic equipment and consumables manufacturers is weak, and the oral industry chain is difficult to develop on a large scale.
In response to the above problems, Yu Xinwei suggested that the national collection of dental consumables should be launched and included in the national planning of medical insurance.
At the same time, it can promote the national comprehensive reform of medical insurance, give play to the role of oral medical commercial insurance, and the national collection can prevent the reform from being stranded.
"It is also very important to strengthen the combination of production, education and research, and encourage the integration and development of oral science and emerging industries." Yu Xinwei said that it is necessary to accelerate the development of dental implants, orthodontics and dental imaging equipment.
In terms of fees, Yu Xinwei proposed that we should improve the standard of oral medical services, accelerate the standardization and branding of outpatient management of oral terminal services, encourage the development of high-end dental services, standardize the charging standards of medical institutions, and improve the corresponding laws and regulations in all aspects of the oral industry chain.
By reporter Zhang Yuemao, Jiang Ruojing, Li Zewei, Meng Yaxu
Co-ordinator / Liu Xiaoxue
(Editor: Sun Hongli, Yang Di)
Related News

Medication shortages require a multifaceted approach, including international cooperation, improved supply chain management, and technology like AI and data analytics.

Title:

Content: Ireland has been suffering a paracetamol shortage as cases of Covid-19 and the winter flu in the country soared over the festive and new year period.

The revelation was made by Health Minister Stephen Donnelly after his department received notification of a supply issue from the Health Products Regulatory Authority.

It is understood the shortage impacted some prescription paracetamol products.

Read More:Irish people complain of ‘worst ever’ winter bug sweeping country that feels like Covid but isn’t

Two suppliers affected have stated that resupply will be sometime in January 2023.

However, there are other prescription paracetamol suppliers with some stock available on the shelves.

Paracetamol is one of the medicines used most often in Ireland and especially for the flu, aches and pain.

But Mr Donnelly pointed out that there are multiple forms of the drug with different strengths and brands available from various sources.

He said: "In the event that there are some supply issues for individual medicines, alternative options such as alternative strengths and brands, generic medicines will usually be available to ensure continuity of treatment.

"In some cases where the medicine initially prescribed for the patient is unavailable, patients may be switched to a suitable therapeutic alternative following appropriate consultation with a healthcare professional."

The Health Minister said medicine shortages have been increasingly prevalent worldwide over the past decade. The causes of such shortages are multifactorial including shortage of raw materials, manufacturing difficulties and industry consolidations.

He stated: "Medicine shortages can originate at any point in the supply chain. They can involve and impact many stakeholders in different ways as the supply models and clinical use of therapies can vary across national health systems.

"Management of medicines shortages necessitates a multi-faceted, multi stakeholder response to ensure patient safety , continuity of care and protection of public health.

"Patients or their carers who have any concerns in relation to temporary alternative products provided because of medical shortages are advised to speak with their pharmacist or other healthcare [professionals] involved in their care."

Mr Donnelly was responding to a number of written Dail questions on the shortage of medicines.

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Healthcare systems can mitigate medication shortages and ensure patient access to necessary medications by working together and implementing effective strategies.

Title:

Content: As drug shortage list grows, many hospitals face tough decisions on rationing care

More than half of hospital pharmacists are reporting a critical shortage of chemotherapy drugs and nearly all are reporting overall medicine supply gaps as prescription drug shortages near an all time high, according to a new survey.

Hospital pharmacists said drug shortages have forced 1 in 3 health systems to delay, cancel or ration care or switch to alternate drugs to continue to treat patients. And 99% are reporting some drug supply shortages, an American Society of Health-System Pharmacists survey of more than 1,000 pharmacists released Thursday found.

The organization reported shortages of 309 drugs, near the all-time high of 320 shortages in 2014. The scarcity of key drugs is prompting hospitals to find or substitute drugs and change treatment plans as needed.

“In some cases, there are no alternatives to the affected drugs, which puts patients at risk," ASHP Chief Executive Officer Paul W. Abramowitz said in a statement. "This issue requires quick action from Congress to address the underlying causes of shortages and ensure patients have the medications they need.”

Cancer drug shortages

In June, the Food and Drug Administration said it will temporarily allow overseas drug manufacturers to import some chemotherapy drugs.

The FDA allowed Qilu Pharmaceutical, a drug manufacturer in China, to import the injectable chemotherapy drug cisplatin in 50-milligram vials. Toronto pharmaceutical company Apotex Corp. will distribute the medication in the United States.

More than a dozen cancer drugs have been in shortage in recent months, including cisplatin and carboplatin, used to treat lung, breast, prostate and gynecologic cancers. The National Cancer Institute said cisplatin and similar drugs are prescribed for 10% to 20% of all cancer patients.

In June, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network released a survey of 27 academic cancer centers that found 93% reported shortages of carboplatin and 70% faced shortages of cisplatin.

When cancer hospitals face such shortages, they attempt to make sure there's enough medication for patients to finish the course of treatment, said Mike Ganio, ASHP's senior director of pharmacy practice and quality.

Cancer hospitals facing such shortages might change medications for new patients starting on chemotherapy, said Ganio, a former pharmacy manager at an academic cancer center.

"You try to keep that patient on the same regimen as much as you can, unless they're failing it for some reason, and then you would switch," Ganio said.

Steroids, hormonal drugs also in short supply

More than 1 in 5 hospital pharmacists also reported shortages for steroids, hormonal drugs and oral liquids such as lidocaine, ibuprofen and amoxicillin.

A smaller number of pharmacists said heart medications, emergency prefilled syringes and drugs used for intensive care unit patients were in short supply. Others reported shortages of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medicines, antimicrobial drugs and injectable opioids.

In all, about two-thirds of pharmacists said the shortages were "moderately impactful," which means they are managing shortages but patients are affected.

Pharmacists are managing the shortages by offering therapeutic alternatives, buying different vial sizes or concentrations and rationing medicines.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Survey: Drug shortages are widespread, hospitals ration care

Drug shortages have increased over the years, reaching a record 323 in 2024.

The causes of drug shortages include manufacturing problems, supply chain gaps, and high demand.

Lack of transparency in the pharmaceutical industry hinders the response to drug shortages.

Some countries have implemented joint procurement to reduce prices and improve access to essential medicines.

Title:

Content: Health · Life
Joint procurement response to the shortage of cardiac stents: sufficient supply of selected products Temporary shortage of individual models to pay attention to
September 08, 2021 08: 48 Source: People 's Daily Online
People's Daily Beijing, September 8 (Reporter Cui Yuanyuan) In response to recent media reports on the shortage of selected stents after the collection of coronary stents by the national organization, in order to enable the public to understand the actual situation, a few days ago, the national organization of high-value medical consumables joint procurement office (hereinafter referred to as the joint procurement) responded that since the implementation of the national organization coronary stent collection results, the overall progress has been stable, the price significantly reduced.
On the whole, the selected enterprises carefully organize production and supply according to the demand of medical institutions, and the overall supply of various types of supports is greater than the purchase demand.
Overall supply is greater than procurement needs
From January to August, medical institutions used 1.1 million selected products (all chromium alloy stents), an increase of 54% compared with the same period last year (710,000), and the total amount of use has exceeded the national annual agreed procurement volume (1.07 million).
The factory supply situation is generally good. From January to August, the selected enterprises have supplied 1.98 million selected stents from the factory, which is more than 1.8 times the annual agreed procurement volume, which is 1.8 times the actual use of hospitals.
After deducting the use of medical institutions, the factory supply reached 880,000 units, including circulation and inventory, and the supply was sufficient.
From the national point of view, all kinds of bracket are in stock.
Before and after the collection, the use of various length and diameter specifications and the factory supply structure are basically consistent with 2020.
The patient ’ s personal expenses can be reduced by thousands
The joint procurement office said that the collection of coronary stents is the first single collection of high-value medical consumables organized by the state, and the reform has achieved remarkable results.
It is obvious that the people benefit.
The price of selected products in the collection and mining of coronary stents has decreased significantly, and the burden on the masses has decreased significantly.
According to estimates in Beijing, the average personal burden of patients receiving stent implantation decreased by 10,000 yuan.
At the same time, many people who could not afford the support and chromium alloy support also used the "high-quality and affordable" chromium alloy support.
The second is the increase in doctor's income.
After the collection of coronary stents, some provinces with low standard of the original coronary stent implantation surgery raised the charging standards, superimposed medical insurance payment balance retention, payment mode reform and other mechanisms, and the medical staff in the relevant departments increased their sunshine income under the condition of stable workload, which also helped to straighten out the compensation mechanism of public hospitals.
The third is to optimize the industrial development environment.
Concentrated procurement effectively solves the problem of inflated prices, purifies circulation links, and optimizes the business environment.
A total of 11 enterprises participated in the bidding, and eight enterprises were selected, gaining 80% of the market share, improving industrial concentration, while leaving enough market space for unselected enterprises and new entrants to the market.
Problems such as temporary shortage of individual models need attention
"Because the centralized procurement has changed the original circulation mode, it is necessary for all parties to strengthen cooperation in production, distribution and use, to adapt to the new mechanism, and some problems have also been exposed in the running-in process."
The association points out.
First, production, distribution and use of the changes to the collection mode is still in the running-in.
The high price of the bracket before collection and mining supports the delivery enterprises to provide "on call", at any time replenishment and gift of the "Baom-type" service.
After the collection and extrusion of gray costs in circulation, manufacturers, distribution enterprises and hospitals return to normal and equal purchasing and marketing relations.
The new mechanism requires distribution enterprises to use modern logistics and information technology to improve the efficiency and accuracy of supply, and also requires hospitals to strengthen the fine management of hospital supplies for stocking, use, inventory, replenishment and other links.
At present, the connection of the relevant parties in the supply chain is still adapting to each other, which also makes the temporary shortage of individual models of supports.
Second, the use of high-priced drug balloons in some hospitals has grown rapidly.
Monitoring found that after the price of the coronary stent was reduced, although the total use of the drug balloon was not large, the growth rate was fast, which was a reasonable increase in clinical development, but considering that the drug balloon price was about 20,000 yuan, it did not rule out other abnormal factors.
In this regard, the joint procurement office said that the next step will be to coordinate with the parties to take targeted measures.
First, further strengthen the production and distribution capabilities of selected products.
The joint procurement office will closely monitor the procurement, distribution and use of the selected products in conjunction with the provincial procurement agencies, requiring the selected enterprises to strictly comply with the requirements, adjust production capacity to meet the demand, and compress the selected enterprises' supply and distribution responsibilities.
The second is to promote medical institutions to improve the level of internal management refinement.
Together with relevant departments, we will guide medical institutions to strengthen capacity building in procurement and inventory management, and improve the efficiency of information transmission and procurement operation.
The third is to regulate the use of drug capsules.
Work with relevant departments to standardize the use of drug sacculus, promote local drug sacculus collection, strengthen supervision of medical institutions with abnormal growth of drug sacculus, and contact for interviews if necessary.
(Editor: Cui Yuanyuan, Lu Qian)
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Benefits of AI for Supply Chain Management

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  • Optimize inventory management with AI-powered demand forecasting, reducing stockouts and minimizing excess inventory.
  • Enhance supply chain visibility with real-time data analytics, enabling proactive decision-making and mitigating disruptions.
  • Automate repetitive tasks like order processing and tracking, freeing up valuable time for your team to focus on strategic initiatives.
  • Improve delivery accuracy and reduce shipping delays with AI-driven route optimization and predictive maintenance.
  • Identify cost-saving opportunities through AI-powered analytics, optimizing procurement strategies and reducing operational expenses.
  • Mitigate risks by detecting potential bottlenecks and vulnerabilities in the supply chain, allowing for proactive risk management.
  • Enhance customer satisfaction with AI-driven demand sensing, ensuring timely and accurate order fulfillment.
  • Streamline supplier selection and management processes with AI-powered supplier performance analysis.

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Best Prompts To Try for Supply Chain Management

Prompt: Optimize your supply chain for maximum efficiency and cost savings. Identify bottlenecks and streamline processes with AI-powered insights.

Take your supply chain management to the next level with AI-driven optimization. This prompt empowers you to identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies in your supply chain, allowing you to streamline processes and reduce costs. From inventory management to transportation logistics, leverage cutting-edge technology to unlock untapped potential and achieve peak efficiency.

Prompt: Predict and mitigate supply chain risks with real-time data analysis. Stay ahead of disruptions and ensure uninterrupted operations.

Stay one step ahead of potential supply chain disruptions with the power of AI. This prompt enables you to analyze real-time data and identify potential risks, allowing you to proactively mitigate them. From natural disasters to supplier failures, gain the ability to make data-driven decisions and safeguard your business operations against unexpected challenges.

Prompt: Optimize inventory levels and reduce stockouts using predictive analytics. Maximize customer satisfaction and minimize carrying costs.

Never disappoint your customers with stockouts again. Leverage the power of predictive analytics to optimize your inventory levels and ensure you always have the right products on hand. This prompt helps you strike the perfect balance between meeting customer demand and minimizing carrying costs. With AI-driven insights, you can achieve higher customer satisfaction and maximize profitability by avoiding excess inventory.

AI Prompt FAQs for Supply Chain Management

How can AI prompts help optimize supply chain management processes?

AI prompts can help optimize supply chain management processes by leveraging data analytics and machine learning algorithms to enhance visibility, predict demand, improve forecasting accuracy, automate inventory management, optimize logistics, and streamline operations. They can analyze vast amounts of historical and real-time data to identify patterns, detect anomalies, and generate actionable insights for efficient decision-making. AI prompts can also facilitate predictive maintenance, enabling proactive identification of potential disruptions and minimizing downtime. Additionally, they can enable autonomous decision-making, enhance collaboration, and improve risk management in supply chain operations.

Is there an AI tool that can generate real-time demand forecasts to improve inventory management?

Yes, there are AI tools available that can generate real-time demand forecasts to improve inventory management. These tools use advanced machine learning algorithms to analyze historical sales data, market trends, and other relevant factors to predict future demand accurately. By providing real-time forecasts, businesses can optimize their inventory levels, reduce stockouts and overstocking, and improve overall supply chain efficiency.

What are the benefits of using AI prompts in supply chain management, and how can they help improve decision-making?

The benefits of using AI prompts in supply chain management include improved efficiency, enhanced decision-making, and better risk management. AI prompts can analyze vast amounts of supply chain data, such as inventory levels, demand patterns, and production capacities, to provide real-time insights and recommendations. These prompts can help optimize inventory levels, streamline logistics operations, and identify bottlenecks or inefficiencies in the supply chain. By leveraging AI technology, supply chain managers can make data-driven decisions, anticipate demand fluctuations, mitigate risks, and improve overall operational performance.

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A Universal Health Insurance Cost Distribution Target System can make drugs more affordable by adjusting prices.

Title:

Content: The lack of medicine continues to burn!
The Ministry of Health and Welfare has proposed a short, medium and long-term strategy to deal with the current 5 coping mechanisms.
Journalist Yen Zhenzhen / Taipei Report
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the shortage of drugs is not a single factor, but includes supply problems, manufacturing problems, clinical demand factors, uneven distribution of drugs, drug use habits and drug prices. In addition to dealing with the relatively high clinical demand items, it is properly allocated to all levels of medical institutions and pharmacies to fully meet the needs of clinical end-use drugs.
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In the face of the shortage of drugs, Wang said, the existing health insurance uses five major coping mechanisms, including 1, a single processing window, a dedicated person to help deal with the problem of drug purchase, and contact the Food and Drug Administration to put relevant information on the website of the NHI. (4) Drug price adjustment mechanism that does not meet the cost can be re-checked according to the way of raising the price of special drugs; (5) Alternative drugs can still declare the cost, if they are not irreplaceable, they can be replaced at the same price or lower than the original prescription drug price.
In addition, Wang pointed out that in the face of the international epidemic, the Russian-Ukrainian war, and labor shortage, drug shortage is a problem facing all countries. In order to strengthen the stable supply mechanism of drugs in China, the Ministry of Health and Welfare continues to actively respond to the short-term strategy to solve the problem of drug shortage. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the pharmaceutical industry have made every effort to actively arrange production lines, strive for early import, increase production / import quantity, and properly distribute to all levels of medical institutions and pharmacies to fully meet the demand for clinical end use drugs.
In addition, to properly handle the issue of drug price adjustment, the Central Health Insurance Administration of the Ministry of Health and Welfare intends to implement the "Universal Health Insurance Cost Distribution Target System (DET)" in April this year, which will adjust the number of drug prices and adjust the quota in a suitable manner, taking into account factors such as the epidemic, the Russian-Ukrainian war and inflation.
In terms of medium-term strategy, Wang said that he will establish a permanent drug shortage treatment center and optimize drug supply information transmission.
In order to speed up the handling of drug shortage incidents, we will adopt dedicated personnel and cross-departmental cooperation to develop drug shortage prevention policies to prevent drug shortage in advance, strengthen cross-departmental data integration and proactive monitoring to detect drug shortage incidents at an early stage, and intervene early through cross-departmental cooperation to stabilize drug supply.
At the same time, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to disseminate drug supply and alternative drug information through various channels. In addition to posting on the “Drug Supply Information Platform ”, the FDA will notify medical institutions and pharmacies through VPN, and weekly letters to relevant medical associations and public associations to inform members. Management system.
In the long-term strategy section, it includes reviewing the current health insurance drug pricing policy and encouraging the production of domestically manufactured generic drugs.
Wang Bi-sheng pointed out that in the review of the current health insurance drug price policy, including the development of the price protection of indicative drugs, drug price review for the lack of drugs; start the review of drug expenditure target (DET), plan the establishment of a risk control mechanism, plan the national unified procurement trial plan; comprehensively review the health insurance drug price policy, give an appropriate price protection mechanism for necessary drugs, and also target the patent period. To encourage the production of domestic manufacturers to ensure that when there is a shortage of original pharmaceutical products, there are domestic famous drugs to respond.
Wang also stressed that the Food and Drug Administration has set up a "Drug Supply Information Platform" (https: / / dsms.fda.gov.tw /), reporting hotline (02) 27878249. If medical institutions and pharmacies have any shortage of drugs, they can go to the platform for enquiry or notification, and the department will deal with it immediately.
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A multi-stakeholder response involving companies, providers, and governments is necessary to manage medication shortages.

The FDA can mitigate shortages by increasing supply and allowing overseas drug imports.

Addressing medication shortages requires a comprehensive approach involving both supply and demand.

Title:

Content: The domestic shortage of drugs has spread, and the issue of drug payment has also sparked discussion.
The NGO believes that under the limited health insurance resources, it is necessary to cut expenditure and speed up the steps of instructing the use of drugs to exclude health insurance payments.
For the Drug Cost Allocation Target System (DET), which has been in place for 10 years, experts from all walks of life should also be convened to discuss the reform.
As there are still people who do not know through what channel to obtain alternative medicines, and some hospitals will still be stamped with irreplaceable seals, the government should also put forward the corresponding measures for the people.
Lin Ya-hui, executive director of the Medical Reform Commission, pointed out that the cost of medicines in Taiwan accounts for about 25% of the total amount of health insurance, while in other advanced countries it is about 10-20%, and the cost of medicines is too high, which will crowd out other medical services.
The payment of pharmaceutical products is very complicated. In addition to considering the financial balance, it must also take into account the quality of medical care and the development of industry.
Under the limited health insurance resources, if there is no open source, the most important thing is to cut expenditure.
According to the provisions of the "Health Insurance Law", instructing the use of drugs and the scope of health insurance payment, Lin Ya-hui believes that health insurance should not still pay so many instructions to use drugs today, and should accelerate the step of excluding payment.
If it is necessary to pay, it can be listed in order to carry out an inventory.
For the DET system, which has been piloted since 2013, the pharmaceutical industry, the medical community, patients, and experts should also be convened to discuss whether and how the system needs to be reformed.
Lin Ya-hui pointed out that in response to the shortage of drugs, the government should not only solve the supply side, but also solve the demand side.
Many people do not have access to medicines and do not know how to obtain alternative medicines.
In addition, some hospitals in order to leave the takedown of the medicine in the hospital, will be stamped with an irreplaceable seal on the slow note. If the item imported by the pharmacy is 50 ml, and the hospital specifies 100 ml, even if the same ingredients, the public can not receive the medicine in the community pharmacy, which will lose the beauty of graded medical care.
The government must come up with a more refined approach to address the panic of the people as soon as possible.
The medical community calls on health insurance to increase investment in health care to solve the shortage of medicines. Wu Hung-lai, president of the Taiwan Alliance of Sick Friends, believes that simply increasing money will not necessarily solve the problem. Take the United States for example, health care spending accounts for a high proportion of GDP, but the results are not good.
The government should not give instructions to give money, but to build a better system.
# PAY # DRUGS # HEALTH CARE # INDICATIVE DRUGS # DISCUSSION

Medication shortages, such as the 93% reported shortage of carboplatin in academic cancer centers, can have significant clinical and economic outcomes.

Prices increase by 16.6 percent during drug shortages.

Title:

Content: Prescription drug shortages lead to higher prices

Reporter: Andryanna Sheppard
Published: Updated:
Lea este artículo en Noticias WINK

Millions of people in the United States depend on prescription drugs to manage pain, treat medical conditions, and even to help them stay alive. However, the country’s drug shortage is making it hard for some people to get the medication they need or pay for the drugs that are available.

Federal Drug Administration data shows 90 percent of prescriptions in the US are for generic drugs. According to the National Institutes of Health, most prescription drugs involved in shortages are generic options.

There are currently more than 250 medications on the nation’s prescription drug shortage list, according to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. The organization says 2023 marked the worst year for shortages in about a decade.

Jessica Kahn’s two sons were diagnosed with ADD.

“I would say tricky, tricky to navigate,” Kahn described.

For the past year, Kahn said getting their medication has been frustrating.

“I have my list of all the pharmacies. I’ve even driven all the way up north to Walgreens or a CVS, some random place to go pick up a kids’ prescription,” Kahn added.

According to the FDA, prescription drug shortages are often linked to manufacturing and quality problems, delays, and discontinuations. Two drugs used in chemotherapy, Adderall, lidocaine, and amoxicillin are just a couple of the prescription medications on the shortage list.

When drug supplies are low, prices tend to increase. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, there is a 16.6 percent increase in the price of drugs involved in a shortage. And in some cases, alternative drugs were priced at least three times higher.

“You got to be very conscientious that it might not be available and that it is not an option,” Kahn advised. “No matter how many places you call, it’s not there.”

Beating the prescription drug shortage

Health experts offer these tips:

  • Check the national drug shortage list for your medication and possible alternatives.
  • Don’t wait until your prescription is almost gone to refill it.
  • Check other pharmacies for availability and if you can’t find the generic version, look for coupons or programs that offer payment help. Some patients have reported that they receive additional help to reduce some prescription costs from $100 to $10, it’s not allowed if you are already on Medicare.
  • Websites and apps like GoodRX, RX Saver and WellRX can help you find the cheapest place that has your medication and coupons for it.

Contributors to this news report include: Lindsay Dailey, Producer; Bob Walko, Editor

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.

Alternative therapies and treatment options can cause patient anxiety, such as the 44% of people in France facing a drug shortage in 2024.

Medication shortages impact patient care, with 1 in 3 health systems delaying or canceling care.

Medication shortages are caused by manufacturing problems, raw material shortages, and lack of transparency from pharmaceutical companies.

Alternative therapies can lead to changes in patient management, with pharmacists offering therapeutic alternatives during shortages.

Title:

Content: The Ministry of Health and Welfare yesterday announced the establishment of the "Drug Supply Notification Processing Center" and announced the situation of drug shortage for the first time today. According to the Food and Drug Administration, a total of 22 drug shortages were reported between March 25 and April 4, of which 7 were found to have no shortage, 12 were recommended to use alternative drugs, and 1 was launched for no alternative drugs.
However, first-line pharmacists have been slow to respond to the expansion of the drug shortage center, pointing out that there is still a shortage of two to three drugs per day, indicating that the new system has not changed much after the road.
As many as 12 missing drugs are recommended to be replaced by alternatives, including Yuanzhou Ginkgo Ning Tablets 40mg for terminal hemorrhagic disorders, Anxiety Disorder Tablets 30mg, Gastric ulcer Tablets 30mg, Gastrointestinal spasmodic Tablets 10mg, etc.
However, some hospital pharmacists revealed to this newspaper, the Ministry of Health and Welfare "drug supply notification processing center" was established, the immediate impact on the lack of drugs is not large, now there is an average of 2 to 3 drugs per day shortage, yesterday on the road of the lack of drug platform is just another website statistics, "the Food and Drug Administration and its re-statistics of lack of drugs, can be more active, sorting really in the production of medical Agency inquiry? ”
In addition, the back-line antibiotics produced by Merck 1 gram recently also announced that it will withdraw from the Taiwan market, many medical institutions were informed in March that they will no longer supply, due to the fact that no famous drugs are available in China, so that hospitals are worried that they will be available in 1 or 2 months.
Ertapenem Sodium is a common carbapenem antibiotic. Although it is a back-line antibiotic, it is a narrow type of product, so it is usually the first choice of back-line antibiotics. In the future, if manufacturers no longer supply it, hospitals can only use broad-effect antibiotics. Infection control has a negative impact.
Huang Jingtai describes that in the future, if you can't use Yimen treatment, the treatment of bacterial infection will lead to a "bullknife", adding the possibility of future bacterial resistance. Although there are still stocks in the hospital, it is likely to not last this year.
In addition, another antibiotic, Tainin, which is also produced by Merck, has long been withdrawn from the Taiwan market, so infection doctors are worried that they will only be used in the later stage of antibiotics in the future, forming a vicious circle.
Yang Bowen, director of the pharmaceutical division of the Food and Drug Administration, responded that Yimanzhi had notified as early as July last year that due to the decline in foreign production capacity and the increase in the cost of raw materials, the supply of controlled goods was changed, and whether Yimanzhi would withdraw from Taiwan?
Through the internal evaluation of Charmer Shadong, even if the final exit will wait half a year before the market, plus there is a domestic pharmaceutical factory can produce famous drugs, it should not cause too much impact.
# Drugs # Lack of Drugs # Antibiotics # Shortage # Food and Drug Administration

Medication shortages affect pharmacies' economies by about 20%.

Title:

Content: Pharmacies owners in Alexandria: The drug commodity is strategic and the shortage affected the employment by about 20%
A number of members of the Board of Directors of the Pharmacies Owners Division at the Chamber of Commerce in Alexandria stressed that the problem of shortage of many drugs that began to appear recently led to problems and negative phenomena and reflected on the operating economies, in addition to its negative impact on the health of patients mainly.
Moataz Mahmoud
11: 48 AM, Thursday, 20 Jul 23
A number of members of the Board of Directors of the Pharmacies Owners Division at the Chamber of Commerce in Alexandria stressed that the problem of shortage of many drugs that began to appear recently led to problems and negative phenomena and reflected on the operating economies, in addition to its negative impact on the health of patients mainly.
Some added that the drug commodity has a special nature and there is no one to dispense with it, pointing out that the drug market suffers from a real problem that must be intervened to fix it, especially that there are vital medicines and some chronic diseases have become unavailable, which means there is a risk to the health of patients who use them.
Some estimated the rates of negative effects on the economies of pharmacies by about 20% as a result of the shortage of many drugs, which affects their sales, pointing out that the impact of pharmacies remains limited compared to the effects achieved on patients.
Some considered that the drug commodity represents national security and therefore the crisis of drug shortages must not continue and must be resolved quickly, in order to preserve the sector and not collapse, especially as the pharmaceutical sector proved efficient in the stage of facing the new Corona virus pandemic and stood by the Egyptian state at that critical period.
Samir Siddiq: Commodity Medicine Strategy
At the beginning, Dr. Samir Siddik, a member of the board of directors of the pharmacy owners division in the Chamber of Commerce in Alexandria, and the former chairman of the board of directors of the division said that the problem of shortage of many drugs that began to appear recently leads to disasters in the drug market and affects patients negatively mainly.
Siddiq added that there is no individual in Egypt who does not use it, even if this is at the level of the healthy for ordinary aspirin or sparkling, pointing out that this has turned into a real problem experienced by many parts of the system.
He considered that the pharmaceutical market suffers from a real problem that must be intervened to reform this important and vital market.
He explained that there are vital medicines, some of which are specific to chronic diseases, have become unavailable or available in the market, which means that the continued absence of these medicines means the slow death of patients who take them.
He pointed out that the nature of the drug commodity is national security and it is necessary to intervene to resolve it, explaining that the Egyptian Drug Authority should have a role in this matter besides its work as a lecturer for pharmacists and balance errors more than its keenness on the availability of drugs in the markets.
He considered a member of the Board of Directors of the Pharmacies Owners Division in the Chamber of Commerce in Alexandria, and the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Division that the crisis of shortage of medicines continues in the markets since 2019, but it has worsened recently and significantly for many varieties.
Samir Siddiq considered that the shortage of medicines affects the sales of pharmacies and their operating economies, pointing out that the lack of availability of these medicines leads to a negative impact on pharmacies by an estimated 20%.
The Egyptian pharmaceutical markets are witnessing a clear shortage in many pharmaceutical items during the recent times, which has been reflected significantly on many dealers in the drug circulation system, from patients, hospitals, production companies and distribution companies to pharmacies, which is the main point and the final link between the producer and the final consumer of the drug.
In turn, Dr. Mohamed Hamed, a member of the Board of Directors of the Pharmacies Owners Division at the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, explained that the problem of shortage in some medicines suffered by the markets varies from one category to another and from one company to another.
Hamed stressed that the drug commodity represents national security and therefore the crisis of drug shortages must not continue and must be resolved, pointing out that the pharmaceutical sector bore the burden of confronting the new Corona virus and stood by the Egyptian state at that critical period.
He added that pharmacies were suffering with patients during the pandemic, while private hospitals were demanding large amounts for patients per day, and pharmacists made efforts to solve the crisis and alleviate its impact, so medicine should not be increased without compensation.
He considered that some pharmacy chains are one of the reasons for the deterioration of the profession and some of them are a failure, which means that the community and the sector can not rely on large pharmacies alone, but individual and small pharmacies bear the burden of covering the sector as the most widespread and provide technical advice, pointing out that some chains offer discounts to citizens that they got bank loans enabled them.
A member of the Board of Directors of the Pharmacies Owners Division at Alexandria Chamber of Commerce pointed out that the continuation of the shortage of medicines means the aggravation of the problem on patients and for pharmacies, they will not be affected by the shortcomings as much as the effects on patients and therefore the public is the most affected.
He considered that the lack of impact on pharmacies is due to the fact that the shortcomings do not reach to stop companies from producing fully, but some companies manufacture many products and stop producing some of those types as a result of not making profits from them, in contrast, there are other companies may be manufacturing the same product under another brand name and at a different price and make profits and continue to produce it.
A member of the Board of Directors of the Pharmacies Owners Division at Alexandria Chamber of Commerce explained that in such cases the pharmacist dispenses the medicines available to patients and sometimes the doctor has to prescribe them to patients regardless of their prices.

The impact of alternative therapies on patient care can be evaluated during medication shortages.

The FDA now allows importing chemotherapy drugs from overseas due to alternative therapies and treatment options.

Medication shortage outcomes can be mitigated by improving supply chain management, such as China's centralized procurement approach.

Medication shortages have complex causes, including raw material shortages, manufacturing issues, and lack of transparency from pharmaceutical companies.

Alternative therapies can lead to patients preferring imported insulin over local options.

Title:

Content: The Egyptian alternative is not available.. and the importer increased 150% search for insulin..
A journey of misery that threatens the lives of diabetic patients
5.
There is no voice louder than the cries of patients who have failed to get their medicine.. The crisis of lack of medicines continues and haunting patients and threatening their lives.. The most prominent shortcomings of insulin.. In the new republic, access to insulin has become a difficult dream.
Insulin disappeared from pharmacies.. The Right to Medicine Association also received many complaints about the lack of insulin in public hospitals and health insurance clinics in the provinces.
Some patients resorted to the ambulance pharmacy in search of insulin, which is dispensed in specific quantities after providing a modern prescription and analysis proving the patient's diabetes, which prompted citizens to crowd in front of the ambulance pharmacy in long queues to buy those shortcomings after they disappeared from all pharmacies.
The lack of insulin prompted a number of patients to share their suffering on the social networking site Facebook and wondered where it was available.
The price of imported insulin pen rose from 62 pounds to 100 pounds and then 150 pounds up to 192 pounds.. The local price reaches 40 pounds, but it is not available only in the ambulance pharmacy and the patient spends one pen after submitting the prescription and a copy of the card and the analysis that proves the disease.
The crisis is not limited to pharmacies and government and university hospitals, but there is a shortage of insulin in health insurance pharmacies.
Many diabetic patients have complained of not being able to dispense their monthly treatment due to the lack of insulin.. The patient also has to pass through many pharmacies on a long journey to dispense his treatment and there are some pharmacies that dispense half the dose only because of the existing shortage.
The government held several meetings to discuss the drug shortage crisis and promised to solve it within a week.
The crisis prompted a number of deputies to submit requests for a briefing in the House of Representatives on the crisis of the shortage of medicines for chronic diseases such as heart, pressure and diabetes … and accused the Unified Procurement Authority and the Ministry of Health of failing to resolve the crisis.
Mohamed Elbahi, consultant of the Chamber of Pharmaceutical Industry at the Federation of Industries, said that the shortage of medicines in Egypt is caused by the high prices of raw materials due to the high exchange rate, as most of the raw materials used in the pharmaceutical industry are imported from abroad.
I forgot to solve the crisis in stages so as not to impose a burden on the citizen and expect the end of the crisis of medicine shortages within three months at the latest.
Although Egypt imports a large amount of insulin, the Minister of Health and Population, Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, said in statements that Egypt is a producer of insulin, and local insulin can be used as an alternative to the importer, but it is also not available.
As pointed out by dr.
Alaa Mohamed, a pharmacist, said that there is a prevailing culture among citizens that the importer is the best and despite the high price of imported insulin, but the patient is still looking for him and is not satisfied with the alternative.. There are patients suffering from diabetes for several years and they are accustomed to the importer and it is difficult to replace it with the Egyptian.
Dr. Ali Abdullah, director of the Center for Pharmaceutical Studies, explained that the reason for the shortage of medicines is the inability of the producing companies to bear the difference of money to import raw materials after the rise of the dollar price from 31 pounds to 49 pounds.
He pointed out the need to raise the awareness of citizens and change the prevailing culture that the importer is better than the local. We must educate patients to use alternative medicines because they are much cheaper than the importer, which costs us a lot of money.
He added that it is necessary to enact legislation to prevent the dispensing of medicines without prescription in order to prevent the withdrawal of medicines and their use for purposes other than those specified for them.
On the other hand, Dr. Ali Abdullah called for the need to reconsider the pricing of medicines with not forgetting the social and investment part of companies.. And the citizen to accept the increase in the prices of medicine, and also must control the market of medicines.. There are statements by Minister Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar pointed out that the private sector represents 70% of medicines, and the government has 30%.. Unfortunately there is a large amount of government medicines private hospitals and pharmacies health insurance are leaked For the black market and the citizen does not find evidence in a syringe price of 200 pounds sold for 2000 pounds.. In a drug used in illegal abortion price of 11 pounds is now sold for 200 and 300 pounds although it is private government only.. And on the private level we find abuse in the use of drugs veterinarians sell veterinary drugs with feed..
And gynecologists and obstetricians sell the IUD at times its prices and hormonal injections as well.. Where is the legislation that governs this farce and where is the drug traceability that governs the medicine can.
Dr. Irene Saad, a member of the House of Representatives, pointed out that the reason for the shortage of medicines, especially medicines for chronic diseases, is the decline in the import of raw materials and the tendency of some factories and companies to stop production lines because of the lack of raw materials for the industry due to the high price of the dollar.
She stressed that the role of the state is to pay attention to the factories of the private business sector in the country, which can feed the gap in public hospitals and health insurance, and there is more interest in the city of medicine to serve the national industry, and there is a national strategy to localize the drug industry and rely on local alternatives.
It is possible to agree with the Ministry of Agriculture to provide animal gelatin.. Packaging materials.. Manufacturing these materials locally can save the final cost and reach a fair price for medicines..
Therefore, the state should give incentives to important production lines that fill a deficit.. There must be coordination between the Pharmaceutical Authority and the Ministry of Industry to identify the shortcomings and develop alternative plans to provide them at reasonable prices.
She pointed out that insulin, for example, from medicines should be in stock at least 6 months because of its great importance in providing health care to citizens, and there should be stock for all medicines, especially medicines for chronic diseases.

Medication shortages can threaten patient safety and increase costs, impacting patient care.

Alternative therapies can lead to changes in healthcare policy, addressing medicine supply and demand.

Estonia's drug shortages have worsened this year, but improving supply chain management can help mitigate their clinical and economic impact.

Title:

Content: Drug supply problems have worsened in Estonia
This year, pharmacies in Estonia faced a much larger shortage of drugs than a year earlier.
Problems with supplies are caused by both increased demand and shortage of raw materials, reports rus.err with reference to "Actual chamber".
This spring, parents faced a shortage of antibiotics and antipyretic drugs suitable for children, and in the fall, the Sorbister drug for renal patients had to be issued from the state reserve stock, since it was not enough due to supply problems in pharmacies.
Hospitals are also facing a severe shortage of medicines this year.
“For example, hospitals use very important drugs to treat the consequences of heart attacks and strokes, the supply problems of which have been observed for a year, but thanks to good cooperation, we were able to ensure that no one was left without treatment, ” said Marco Tiisler, head of the Import and Export Supervision Department of the Drug Department.
In 2021, there was a shortage of 183 drugs in pharmacies, last year - 359, as of the end of this year - 450 drugs, and in the case of 130 drugs, the cause of the deficiency is unknown.
The second significant reason was a sudden surge in demand, for example, for the drug Ozempic, which is popular among those who lose weight, but drugs can be in short supply due to problems with production.
- Producers lack the active ingredient.
The active substances come from third countries, they are not always available, this was stated by one of the largest European manufacturers of antibiotics, - said Tiisler.
Drug supply problems put not only patients in a difficult position, but also doctors who have to quickly find replacements, sometimes in conditions of scarce information about alternatives.
If earlier, in the case of a shortage of drugs, the patient had to pay the full cost of the drug prescribed as a substitute, recently the Health Insurance Fund, as an exception, decided to extend the discount to some alternatives.
According to Lee Rootslane, head of the Union of Pharmacies, problems with the supply of medicines are a growing problem throughout Europe.
- This year, in cooperation with the Drug Department and family doctors, we made recommendations so that if a problem arises, we do not solve it after the fact, but try to provide some solutions and avoid panic.
In the case of children ’ s syrups, people read about the shortage of syrup, went to the pharmacy and took two syrups instead of the usual one, ” Rootslane said.
The drug department recommends having a weekly supply of non-prescription drugs and a monthly supply of prescription drugs at home.
Comments
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Medication shortages have complex causes, including production problems, ingredient shortages, and sudden demand surges.

Medication shortages, such as the 93% reported shortage of carboplatin in academic cancer centers, can have significant clinical and economic outcomes.

Prices increase by 16.6 percent during drug shortages.

Alternative therapies and treatment options can cause patient anxiety, such as the 44% of people in France facing a drug shortage in 2024.

Medication shortages impact patient care, with 1 in 3 health systems delaying or canceling care.

Medication shortages are caused by manufacturing problems, raw material shortages, and lack of transparency from pharmaceutical companies.

Alternative therapies can lead to changes in patient management, with pharmacists offering therapeutic alternatives during shortages.

Medication shortages affect pharmacies' economies by about 20%.

The impact of alternative therapies on patient care can be evaluated during medication shortages.

The FDA now allows importing chemotherapy drugs from overseas due to alternative therapies and treatment options.

Medication shortage outcomes can be mitigated by improving supply chain management, such as China's centralized procurement approach.

Medication shortages have complex causes, including raw material shortages, manufacturing issues, and lack of transparency from pharmaceutical companies.

Title:

Content: Ireland has been suffering a paracetamol shortage as cases of Covid-19 and the winter flu in the country soared over the festive and new year period.

The revelation was made by Health Minister Stephen Donnelly after his department received notification of a supply issue from the Health Products Regulatory Authority.

It is understood the shortage impacted some prescription paracetamol products.

Read More:Irish people complain of ‘worst ever’ winter bug sweeping country that feels like Covid but isn’t

Two suppliers affected have stated that resupply will be sometime in January 2023.

However, there are other prescription paracetamol suppliers with some stock available on the shelves.

Paracetamol is one of the medicines used most often in Ireland and especially for the flu, aches and pain.

But Mr Donnelly pointed out that there are multiple forms of the drug with different strengths and brands available from various sources.

He said: "In the event that there are some supply issues for individual medicines, alternative options such as alternative strengths and brands, generic medicines will usually be available to ensure continuity of treatment.

"In some cases where the medicine initially prescribed for the patient is unavailable, patients may be switched to a suitable therapeutic alternative following appropriate consultation with a healthcare professional."

The Health Minister said medicine shortages have been increasingly prevalent worldwide over the past decade. The causes of such shortages are multifactorial including shortage of raw materials, manufacturing difficulties and industry consolidations.

He stated: "Medicine shortages can originate at any point in the supply chain. They can involve and impact many stakeholders in different ways as the supply models and clinical use of therapies can vary across national health systems.

"Management of medicines shortages necessitates a multi-faceted, multi stakeholder response to ensure patient safety , continuity of care and protection of public health.

"Patients or their carers who have any concerns in relation to temporary alternative products provided because of medical shortages are advised to speak with their pharmacist or other healthcare [professionals] involved in their care."

Mr Donnelly was responding to a number of written Dail questions on the shortage of medicines.

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