Pharmacists across Ireland are spending a record amount of time managing medicine shortages, according to a survey carried out by the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU).
The IPU said the medicine shortages, largely driven by demand for treatments such as hormone replacement therapy, GLP-1 agonists for weight loss such as Ozempic and treatments for ADHD, are increasingly negatively affecting patient outcomes.
According to the IPU survey, pharmacists and their teams are now spending more than six hours each week managing shortages, up from between five and 10 hours a month in 2018.
The majority of respondents (95 per cent) reported contacting prescribers regularly to source alternatives with 83 per cent saying they are borrowing stock from other pharmacies, described by the IPU as “labour-intensive efforts that often go unrecognised and unremunerated”.
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The survey of more than 300 community pharmacists showed a persistent high rate of medicine shortages, with 57 per cent of respondents encountering 40 or more shortages in the past four months.
The poll carried out in March and April saw 57 per cent also say shortages had “significantly increased,” and while this was down from 82 per cent in 2024, most respondents (78 per cent) expect the problem to worsen over the coming year.
Some 71 per cent reported negative patient outcomes due to the shortages, up from 66 per cent last year, with a further 82 per cent believing pharmacists should have greater clinical discretion in sourcing generic alternatives.
While medicine shortages are largely “multifactorial,” current shortages are largely driven by demand, according to Clare Fitzell, the IPU’s secretary general.
“When a medicine is in short supply, this can interrupt treatment, something which can be a cause of distress for patients and their families.
“Whilst medicine shortages may be a feature of modern health systems, we need to ensure that the impact of such shortages is minimised to the greatest extent possible,” she said.
Ms Fitzell said the survey findings highlight a profession under pressure, saying: “This is unsustainable and requires urgent, system-wide solutions.”
The IPU is calling on the Department of Health to expedite the Health Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2024, which will facilitate the substitution of medicines by pharmacists in the case of shortages without needing to revert to the prescriber.
The medicine substitution protocols, which will speed up the process, will also benefit patients and prescribers, Ms Fitzell said.
While describing as “significant” a commitment made in the programme for government to support pharmacists to adopt a proactive approach to manage shortages, Ms Fitzell said: “This now needs to be progressed at pace.”
The issue is due to be discussed at the Irish Pharmacy Union conference on Saturday, which Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill is expected to attend.
