‘We’re running blind’: Ontario pharmacist sounds alarm on drug shortages

A local pharmacist concerned over the amount of medicine on backorder is calling for action from the Ontario and federal governments. Siobhan Morris has more.

It has been a frustrating few weeks for Kyro Maseh behind the counter of his Beaches pharmacy.

Patients are showing up with prescriptions for common drugs to treat glaucoma, post-surgery pain, and heart burn. Those medications are backordered and in many cases the alternatives are hard to come by with no clear answers about when stock will return to normal.

While Health Canada publicly shares which drugs are experiencing interruptions and why, Maseh finds the communication and mitigation plans lacking.

“We’re running blind. We just wake up in the morning and find a drug is not available,” Maseh told CTV News in an interview Thursday. “That’s not acceptable.”

He explains a drug being out of stock can trigger a flurry of faxes and phone calls between physicians and pharmacists to land an alternative so patients get the support they need.

“It’s a total waste of health-care resources,” Maseh said.

Dr. Allan Grill, chief of family medicine at Oak Valley Health, agrees unaddressed backordered drugs add unnecessary time to what should be a simple process.

He explains hanging a prescription may take many steps for the care provider and require follow-up appointments at a doctor’s office or pharmacy.

“People are busy; they have jobs, they have young children. It just becomes a big inconvenience. So when there are drug shortages and they’re not addressed, it has unintended consequences for the patient, the pharmacist, and obviously the family doctor or nurse practitioner.”

Kirstin Campbell spiralled into panic last week when she learned the eyedrops she relies on to treat glaucoma were backordered.

“I was scared,” Campbell admitted. “Is this going to be—not my fault—I’m going to end up having to have surgery? Or worse the pressure builds up and something worse could happen?”

Maseh was eventually able to help Campbell get an alternative, but he’d like to streamline the process.

“Pharmacists should be allowed to switch medications when on backorder to a drug in the same category that’s equally efficacious with a similar side effect profile,” Maseh says.

Grill says doctors are often relying on pharmacists to fill them in on any supply problems and offering alternatives early so patient health isn’t put at risk.

A Health Canada spokesperson noted that drug shortages are listed publicly online. Some of the drugs in short supply include hydromorphone due to “disruption of the manufacture” and Combigan due to increased demand.

Meanwhile, the Ontario Ministry of Health said manufacturers are required to notify Health Canada of drug shortages and discontinuations.

“While the ministry is not involved in the operating decisions of independent companies, and pharmaceutical manufacturers are responsible for making the day-to-day decisions of their operations, including which products to manufacture, we do work alongside other provinces and territories, supply chain stakeholders, and health care providers to mitigate and minimize the impact of shortages should they occur,” the ministry’s statement reads.

“This includes working across provinces and with the federal government to ensure a drug in shortage either has an identical replacement available or that there is a supply of other drugs that may be used as a therapeutic alternative.”