Abstract
Like other countries, China has been experiencing drug shortages during the past years, including drugs on the National Essential Medicine List and emergency drugs. Drug shortages have raised public concerns in China and have severe impacts on all stakeholders in the supply chain, especially patients and hospitals. Recently, Chinese governments have ramped up several measures to ensure a steady supply of essential and first-aid drugs. In this commentary, we share our experiences of addressing drug shortages at Hunan Province, central China. We focus on the establishment of a provincial drug shortage monitoring center, and the Center’s efforts to standardize practices on the management of drug shortages and identify therapeutic alternatives for drugs in short supply based on international best practices.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Gray A, Manasse HR Jr. Shortages of medicines: a complex global challenge. Bull World Health Organ. 2012;90(3):158–158A.
Drug shortage statistics. https://www.ashp.org/Drug-Shortages/Shortage-Resources/Drug-Shortages-Statistics. Accessed 28 Nov 2019.
Fan J, Wang Z, Zhang Y, Han S, Shi L, Gun S, et al. Analysis of drug shortage in China’s hospitals. Chin J New Drugs. 2018;27(17):1964–7.
Yang C, Wu L, Cai W, Zhu W, Shen Q, Li Z, et al. Current situation, determinants, and solutions to drug shortages in Shaanxi Province, China: a qualitative study. PLoS One. 2016;11(10):e0165183.
Yang C, Cai W, Li Z, Page AT, Fang Y. The current status and effects of emergency drug shortages in China: perceptions of emergency physicians. PLoS One. 2018;13(10):e0205238.
Fox ER, McLaughlin MM. ASHP guidelines on managing drug product shortages. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2018;75(21):1742–50.
WHO. WHO medicines strategy. Revised procedure for updating WHO's model list of essential drugs. WHO technical report series. Geneva: WHO; 2001.
State Council takes action on drug shortages. https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201908/20/WS5d5b46dea310cf3e35566ae2.html. Accessed 28 Nov 2019.
National Health Commission technical guide for classification and grading of drug shortages in medical institutions https://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2019-07/29/5416151/files/b303c02981494d26bdbacaeba8265a1b.pdf. Accessed 27 Nov 2019.
Drug shortages and labor costs—measuring the hidden costs of drug shortages on U.S. Hospitals. Vizient. https://newsroom.vizientinc.com/sites/vha.newshq.businesswire.com/files/doc_library/file/Drug_Shortages_Labor_Cost_Report_Vizient.pdf. Accessed 28 Nov 28 2019.
Funding
The authors received no funding in connection with the paper.
Conflicts of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Shi, Y., Yang, P., Li, X. et al. Combating drug shortages in China: surveillance warning and practice standardization. Int J Clin Pharm 42, 309–314 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-020-00987-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-020-00987-5