ArticleBMC health services research2021
What impact does medicines shortages have on patients? A qualitative study exploring patients' experience and views of healthcare professionals.
Article in BMC health services research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers.
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Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed.
- The consequences of medicine shortages on healthcare utilization and care fragmentation.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2026Article
- Antibiotic Shortages: Pharmacists' Experiences, Perspectives, and Perceived Clinical Impacts.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Structural drivers of drug shortages and market withdrawal: a longitudinal analysis of the Romanian pharmaceutical market.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Availability of essential medicines in conflict-affected african regions: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Conflict and health · 2026Review
- Burden and Impact of Drug Shortages in a Saudi Tertiary Hospital: A Single-Center Cross-Sectional Survey.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Healthcare Professionals' Perceptions of Medicine Shortages in Public Health Facilities of the Eastern Cape, South Africa.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Local systems, local solutions: which factors drive essential medicine availability in public health facilities across Indonesia?BMJ global health · 2026Article
- Drug stockouts and treatment delays in African health systems: impact on malaria morbidity and mortality.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2026Review
- Article
- Experiences Reported by People with Epilepsy During Antiseizure Medication Shortages in the UK: A Cross-Sectional Survey.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Malaria prophylaxis stock-outs and birth- and maternal outcomes in Zimbabwe.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Article
- Managing medicines in decentralization: discrepancies between national policies and local practices in primary healthcare settings in Indonesia.Health policy and planning · 2025Article
- Community pharmacists' perceptions and experiences of medicine shortages in disruptive situations: a qualitative study.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2025Article
- Patient's willingness to pay for improved community health insurance in Tanzania.Health policy OPEN · 2024Article
- Impact of medicine shortages on hospital practice: role of a multidisciplinary medicine shortages team.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2024Article
- Identifying Medicine Shortages With the Twitter Social Network: Retrospective Observational Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Observational
- Effectiveness of prime vendor system on availability of medicines and medical supplies in the selected public health facilities in Arusha district council.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Shortages of Medicines to Treat COVID-19 Symptoms during the First Wave and Fourth Wave: Analysis of Notifications Reported to Registers in Austria, Italy, and Spain.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Oral contraceptive pills shortage in Lebanon amidst the economic collapse: a nationwide exploratory study.BMC health services research · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe shortage of medicines represents a complex global phenomenon that triggers patient care and safety issues. The study was undertaken to explore the impact of medicines shortages on patients in Pakistan. The study also identified barriers which hinder the solutions of medicines shortages issue.
methodsA qualitative study design was adopted and the data was collected in stages between July and September 2019using an in-depth interview approach. The purposive and convenient sampling strategy was used to recruit the study participants. Sample size was limited by using the saturation point criteria. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using thematic analysis.
resultsA total of 35 stakeholders including 13 physicians, 12 pharmacists and 10 patients participated in the study. The findings of the study were classified into five key themes and seven subthemes. The five themes included, 'impact of medicine shortages on patients', 'patients' practices in response to medicine shortages', 'influence of medicines shortages on medical practice or pharmaceutical business', 'barriers to solutions for medicines shortages', and 'suggestions to assuage the impact of medicine shortages.'This study showed that the medicine shortages had significant clinical and financial impact on patients. Patients' opted for a number of risk-prone practices to avoid treatment disruption during shortages. An array of pharmaceutical market, medicines quality and patient related factors refrain physicians to switch from brand name medicine to generics and lead to ineffective management of medicines shortages. Promotion of generic prescription, implementation of punitive policies and proper patient consultation was advised to assuage the impact of medicine shortages on patients.
conclusionThe adverse clinical, economic and humanistic impact affirmed in this study demand the introduction of risk-management strategies for medicines shortages in hospital and community settings in accordance with the international standards. Promotion of effective patient counselling by the healthcare professionals to deter risk-prone practices associated with medicines shortages is mandatory.
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