THE SHORTAGE OF MEDICINES: CAUSES AND SOLUTIONS

ABSTRACT

Medicine shortages make medical professionals and governments unable to meet their moral obligations to patients and society to ensure access to adequate and timely medical care. The COVID-19 pandemic has put medicine shortages in the spotlight and exacerbated some situations of shortages of specific medicines used in the treatment regimen for coronavirus infection, but shortages have long been a challenge to health systems and a global phenomenon. The aim of this publication is to outline the scale of the phenomenon of “medicine shortages”, its impact on health care systems, as well as to review the causes of shortages and to identify possible solutions. A review of 49 scientific publications, databases, relevant regulations, official websites of drug agencies, professional and patient organizations was performed. The reasons for the shortage are considered, as well as the possible ways to deal with the phenomenon. The shortage of medicinal products is mainly due to production and marketing reasons. In the context of the measures taken by the EU countries to manage the shortage of medicinal products, Bulgaria does not apply the full available arsenal of measures. Professional organizations in the pharmaceutical industry have untapped potential for preventing and limiting shortages of many medicinal products.