Recent publication of a key segment of our new poll of pharmacists revealed the pressures faced by pharmacies due to medicine shortages.
Gripped by the ongoing shortages problem, 72% of pharmacists are dispensing unlicensed medicines one to ten times per day, 43% five times per day, 29% six to ten times per day, 18% eleven to twenty times per day, with 8% say they dispense unlicensed drugs over twenty times per day. Pharmacists also made their views clear on what the response to this issue needs to be, with 86% stating they would like to see patient leaflets for unlicensed drugs translated into English in order to prevent errors and inadequate outcomes.
Ireland’s growing use of unlicensed medicines is also attracted wider attention, as reflected in this report published on global policy news publication, POLITICO under the headline “Ireland’s wide use of unlicensed medicines raises safety concerns”.
Critical medicines: how does Ireland compare to rest of EU?
Latest analysis undertaken by Azure Pharmaceuticals has found that of the 238 medicines listed by the European Medicines Agency (EMA):
- 33 are not licensed in Ireland
- 94 have just a single source supplier in Ireland
- 10 of the single source critical medicines are currently out-of-stock
The analysis has found that these shortages impact treatments for serious conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, infectious diseases, and other chronic illnesses. Unlike 137 countries, Ireland has no localised essential medicines list. Click here to read more.
Key Survey Results/Insights: Consumer
Unlicensed medicines and consumer awareness
Almost 60% of consumers unaware of unlicensed medicines usage
Key Survey Results/Insights: Pharmacist
Unlicensed medicines dispensing trends
Scale of unlicensed dispensing clear, with almost one-fifth of pharmacists dispensing 11 to 20 unlicensed medicines daily
Pharmacists’ sentiment on unlicensed medicines
44% of pharmacists slightly to very uncomfortable dispensing unlicensed medicines
Measures in response to growing presence of unlicensed medicines
86% pf pharmacists want English language patient information leaflets
Verification of unlicensed medicines
Enhanced role for HPRA the clear preference of pharmacists