Following publication of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s report on medicine shortages, Malcolm Harrison, Chief Executive of the CCA said:
“We are grateful for the opportunity to have been involved in this work by the RPS, and we welcome the findings of their final report.
The report makes clear the frustration felt by patients and pharmacy teams on the frontline. Shortages are, unfortunately, rising and we need urgent action to improve the resilience of the supply chain.
Since 2014, volumes of medicines have increased by 14% and value by 20%. We need action to address the root cause of medicine shortages.
Both retained margin and Drug Tariff reimbursement must be uplifted to stop avoidable medicine shortages, to ensure patients can access vital medicines”.