The drug shortages initiative is an expert-informed, researcher led project aimed at addressing the ongoing issue of drug shortages in Canada. This collaborative effort has involved consultations with various experts such as clinicians, policymakers, researchers and professionals from manufacturing companies, pharmacy chains and wholesalers.
Goal
To create a policy-agnostic, expert-informed framework to support how to manage and mitigate the impact of drug shortages on the Canadian healthcare system, allowing policymakers and health system partners to tailor and select drugs for different policies based on their needs using the at-risk medicines list and tool.
Key Principles
- Systemic – The approach is designed to consider the entire supply chain, from manufacturing to patient delivery. It also accounts for various perspectives.
- Adaptable – The list and framework are flexible to accommodate the dynamic landscape of the national health system.
- Transparent – The methods used in this project are presented on a public forum, allowing collaborators and the public to view and provide feedback or input on the decisions made through this process. Additionally, the methodology and components of the framework and the list will be made publicly available.
- Updatable – The at-risk medicines list and framework are designed to have continuous updates and regular review based on current evidence and public and collaborator feedback.
Objectives
- Develop a Risk Framework: A comprehensive policy-agnostic and evidence-informed approach to develop a list and tool that accounts for both supply chain and clinical criteria.
- Develop a Risk Assessment Tool: An expert-informed, data-driven system to categorize medications based on their risk of shortage and clinical importance to create the at-risk medicines list.
- Develop an At-Risk Medicines List: A catalog of medications that are identified as being vulnerable to shortages based on their supply chain risk and clinical importance as assessed by the tool.
Project Phases
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Project Framework
This framework provides an in-depth look at the context and objectives of our work, outlining the different phases of the project. It offers a thorough understanding of our approach, the data we have collected, and the collaborative efforts that have shaped our strategies.
Review the At-Risk Medicines List and Interactive Tool
To better understand the development of the at-risk medicines list and interactive tool, we invited individuals and groups (such as provincial or territorial drug shortage task force, patients, caregivers, pharmacists, prescribers, distributers, wholesalers etc.) to navigate these tools and share their insight. The opportunity to provide feedback on the methods, phases, and the developed at-risk medicines list and framework closed September 30, 2024.
Funding and Support
This project received funding from a CIHR-funded grant and the University of Toronto. We would like to give a special thanks to the Canada’s Drug Agency (CDA) for their support and collaboration on this initiative.
Important Links
This project is comprised of three environmental scans focusing on:
- Impact of drug shortages on population-level drug utilization led by UofT.
- Existing scoring systems and clinical criteria for drug prioritization led by the CDA-AMC.
- Patient outcomes associated with supply chain disruptions and vaccines led by the CDA-AMC.