Ensuring stable supply of drugs in short supply

The necessity of establishing the scope of 'supply shortage' has been highlighted

Types of supply shortage drugs·cases are variable, and it's difficult to identify causes

MOHW "We need to meet the consensus on the 'scope of supply shortage' first before proceeding with administration·National Assembly legislation"

Following President Lee Jae-myung's pledge to establish a stable supply system for drugs with supply shortages, attention is drawn to the Ministry of Health and Welfare's (MOHW) opinion that a social consensus on the criteria and scope of 'supply shortage' is first needed.

 

It is anticipated that legislative review in the National Assembly to resolve the issue of drug shortages will progress if criteria for drug shortages are established, including whether the causes of the shortages are isolated or chronic.

 

On June 26, an MOHW official met with the Korea Special Press Association and explained, "The government also agrees on the need to reform national governance to respond to drugs with supply shortages." The official proposed the necessity of establishing a definition and criteria for drugs with supply shortages to find solutions to the drug shortage problem properly.

 

Establishing the criteria first is necessary because drug shortage issues arise from various types and cases, and finding a consensus on how to quantify them is essential for laying the groundwork to establish policies and proceed with legislation.

 

The MOHW stated that while national essential medicines are designated through various criteria and procedures, defining criteria for drugs with supply shortages will be challenging due to their often variable nature, such as differing shortage durations for each case.

 

An MOHW official explained, "It's crucial how we measure supply shortages.

 

We monitor the situation through supply history reports, but it's difficult to confirm why shortages occur at the final distribution stage," and added, "Since we do not have any information on the inventory levels so there are data limitations in determining whether a shortage is due to an absolute lack of supply or a hoarding problem." The official further explained, "It takes about 2-3 months for data on actual drug prescriptions and usage to accumulate.

 

Hospitals and pharmacies don't report every time a drug is used, and it's even harder to secure data for non-reimbursable drugs," and added, "We need to establish some level of supply shortage criteria to come up with countermeasures.

 

Even during public-private meetings, we discussed whether a drug with supply shortage needed an intervention or not." Meanwhile, four amendments to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act aimed at resolving the issue of drugs with supply shortages are currently pending in the National Assembly (proposed by Rep.

 

Han Jeoung-ae, Rep.

 

Kim Yoon, Rep.

 

Kim Sunmin, and Rep.

 

Seo Mi-hwa).