26 AUGUST 2021

One of the biggest issues during the Covid-19 pandemic was panic buying.  Panic buying led to shortages of household staples like toilet paper, fresh food, pasta, flour and body wash.  But what happens when panic buying leads to a shortage of pain medicine?

Last year, during the height of pandemic panic buying, there were shortages of asthma medicines (Ventolin and Asmol), Analgesics (paracetamol and ibuprofen) and Epi-pen Jrs.

On 1 January 2019, reporting medicine shortages became mandatory in Australia. Depending on the impact of the shortage, medicine sponsors must tell the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) about shortages of prescription medicines and some important over-the-counter medicines within 2-10 days.

Mandatory reporting and improved communication about shortages helps you to be aware of medicine shortages that affect you sooner, which means you can obtain timely advice and support from your doctor and pharmacist which in turn helps to minimise the effects of the shortage on your health and wellbeing.

The TGA is closely monitoring the impact that Covid-19 may have on the supply of medicines in Australia and responding to issues as they arise.

There have been temporary local-level disruptions to supply for some medicines because of Covid-19 induced panic buying and stockpiling. Widespread national-level medicine shortages due to Covid-19 are not likely but are possible if these trends continue.

The TGA Medicine Shortage Reports Database includes information about shortages of reportable medicines in Australia, including those arising from the discontinuation of products. You can subscribe to Medicine Shortages Email Alerts for regular updates on any medicine shortages. Painaustralia will be posting alerts about any emerging medicines shortages on our Covid-19 hub page here.

If there is a shortage of a medicine that you need to manage your pain, you should speak to your doctor or pharmacist. The TGA provides advice to health professionals about what can be used as a substitute should there be a shortage of a particular medicine. Even if there is a shortage, a medicine may still be available from your pharmacy.

Medicines availability during the time of a pandemic can be challenging.  In 2020, it was necessary for Painaustralia to respond to the emerging need for pain-specific information on the Covid-19 pandemic by developing a Covid-19 information hub. While the hub provided a range of information for people living with pain conditions, medicines shortages were a prominent concern. This included important medications such as hydroxychloroquine to treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.  We also responded to calls for more credible information (sometimes to counter widespread misinformation) about the role of other pain medications such as ibuprofen and contraindications with Covid-19 and availability of common pain medications such as paracetamol.

A more recent example was a shortage of a medicine used to treat rheumatoid arthritis called Actemra. This was because, like hydroxychloroquine, there were reports that this medication was an effective treatment for Covid-19.  In response to this shortage, the TGA issued medical practitioners and pharmacists with a Serious Scarcity and Substitutable Medicine notice. This notice provided instructions how to prescribe a substitute dose of the same medication for patients who needed it.

Your health professionals are experienced in determining suitable options for you when a medicine is in short supply or unavailable.

There are several ways that your health professionals may be able to help you if your medicine is unavailable, including:

• supplying you with a different brand or product that contains the same active; ingredient (which may not be the same dose form or strength);
• prescribing a similar medicine to treat your condition;
• recommending a new treatment option, which suits your individual circumstances; or
• assisting you to access your medicine through another pathway.

As the Covid-19 pandemic progresses and many Australians are confined to their homes, it is possible that as some medication shortages resolve, other shortages will arise. Should this happen, there are contingencies in place to make sure no one will go without the medicine they need.  And Painaustralia will continue to monitor these developments and provide timely and quality information to our members.

Carol Bennett, CEO