Most Canadians are concerned about drug shortages, according to a new survey, and industry experts suggest their concerns are warranted.
The recent by Abacus Data found that 69 per cent of respondents were worried about the shortages, particularly those who were older, less wealthy and less educated.
The survey, commissioned by the , found that Canadians trust pharmacists to provide alternate drug options during a shortage. But identifying an alternate during a shortage isnāt always simple and could lead to unexpected side-effects or interfere with allergies, according to Dr. Jacalyn Duffin, professor emerita at Queens University and founder of .
āWe donāt really have a good list of substitute drugs,ā she told Ā鶹“«Ć½ Channel on Monday. āThereās a scramble that takes place. Itās very time consuming and itās anxiety creating for everybody involved.ā
The scramble is happening all over the country, where there is a shortage of nearly 1,700 medications, according to the governmentās .
āItās a huge problem,ā said Duffin. āWeāve been seeing dreadful shortages since about 2010.ā
The shortages affect mostly generic drugs, but not exclusively: drugs for the cardiovascular system that treat blood pressure and help prevent heart failure; drugs for neurological conditions and dermatologic conditions; pain killers of all types; and, even drugs used in chemotherapy for cancer.
The reasons for the shortages are not always simple to pin down, said Duffin, because there is a dearth of information.
āThereās not enough accountability or transparency in the system for us to know,ā she said. So instead experts identify clusters of causes: sometimes manufacturing causes within a factory, or marketing causes when a drug becomes too expensive to produce, for example.
āOne (factor) is it gets too expensive to make it, another is that competition has driven the price down too low that thereās no money to be earned in making it,ā she said. āThe problem is that many of the drugs that go into short supply have only one manufacturer, so there isnāt another maker of exactly the same molecule.ā
Last year, Canada made it mandatory to give notice when a drug shortage may occur. But often manufacturers donāt know soon enough. If thereās a problem in the factory, or a problem getting raw materials, the notice often seems delayed. Most shortages are declared the week or the day that the shortage occurs.
āIndividuals donāt have notice,ā she said. āUsually they hear about it when they show up at the pharmacy wanting to renew their prescription and they discover they just canāt get it.ā
