2 October 2018 - The first objective of the Australian National Medicines Policy is to provide ‘timely access to the medicines that Australians need, at a cost individuals and the community can afford’.

However, even developed countries such as Australia can experience shortages of medicines. These can lead to patient harm due to a result of non-treatment, under-treatment, the use of less appropriate alternatives and medicines safety issues. Addressing these shortages consumes significant clinical effort and there are financial and logistical impacts on healthcare systems and all stakeholders.

In a 2017 survey of Australian hospitals the five most common medicines in short supply were antibiotics, anaesthetics, cardiology drugs, endocrinology drugs and chemotherapy. Such shortages can have a significant impact on patient care with little or no notice.

Read Australian Prescriber editorial