Canadian Pediatric Society outlines steps to conserve ‘vital supply’ amid drug shortages
Global News
The Canadian Paediatric Society has outlined some guidelines to help healthcare providers ensure that children have access to necessary medications.
As critical drug shortages continue to be a concern across Canada, the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) has outlined some guidelines to help health-care providers ensure that children have access to safe and secure supply of necessary medications.
In a report released Thursday, the Canadian Pediatric Society, said that the current “critical” drug shortages are expected to last several months, “and new supply challenges may emerge as “prescribers pivot to second- and third-line drugs.”
A first-line drug is the primary choice for treating a condition that has the “least likelihood of causing side effects,” according to APA Dictionary of Psychology, while a second or third-line drug may cause more side effects while trying to treat the same condition
Canadians have been impacted by worsening supply problems of over-the-counter and prescription drugs, with industry experts saying there is a growing list of medications that are running low or out of stock, making it difficult for health-care providers to prescribe medications.
According to the new CPS guidelines, prescribing practices need to “align with the best available evidence” and health-care providers, and policymakers “need to proactively establish a safe, stable, and secure supply of the medications.”
The CPS also recommends “resource-sensitive prescribing” that can optimize care while also helping to conserve “vital supply.”
“It’s an extra burden on the health care provider who is prescribing to find out if the antibiotic that they want to prescribe is even available,” Dr. Earl Rubin, division director of pediatric infectious diseases at the Montreal Children’s Hospital told Global News.
Moreover, amid ongoing drug shortages, Rubin says pivoting to second and third-line drugs happens every day.
