[Desk’s View] On resolving the stock shortage of drugs

in the COVID-19 endemic

As a parent, I feel like I've been visiting hospitals after the endemic than I did during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

At the height of the pandemic, I only had to worry about COVID-19, but after the pandemic has passed, children with weak immunity are suffering from various viral diseases including colds, flu, and adenovirus.

 

When my older daughter got sick, my younger one also got sick, and us parents were no exception.

 

After going through a series of these vicious cycles, I pulled out my mask again and wondered whether I had removed my mask too soon.

 

With this increase in hospital visits, drug shortages are quite understandable.

 

However, as a healthcare consumer, I don't understand the seriousness of it.

 

It's not as bad as when I had to go from pharmacy to pharmacy seeking acetaminophen fever reducers for my COVID-19 vaccination.

 

I never had to go to another pharmacy because the prescriptions written by my local pediatrician or ENT were not available at one site.

 

However, when I look at the prescribed drugs, I see the ingredients of the “drug with unstable supply" that are often mentioned in recent articles.

 

Although these are not the items that are being discussed for price hikes, they contain the same active ingredients.

 

This shows that there may be differences in demand for different products even within those that contain the same ingredients.

 

Also, in one corner of the pharmacy, I saw a lot of over-the-counter fever reducers.

 

Although the supply of prescribed fever reducers is running low, the over-the-counter ones still seem to be available.

 

The government's response to the ‘unstable supply of medicines’ seems to have been successful to a certain extent, as consumers are not feeling any inconvenience yet.

 

If the consumers had felt and experienced the drug shortage firsthand, the anger against the government would have been extreme, as people become most emotional when they are sick.

 

However, I am disappointed that the government's solution seems to be focused on 'increasing production.’ Even the most effective card the government has played, the drug price increase, is aimed at increasing production.

 

If only certain products are out of stock and other drugs with the same ingredient are available, efforts should be made to diversify prescriptions.

 

It would be best if the system allows full utilization of the substitution system, but it is unlikely to have an effect under the current system, as the pharmacies need to bear the inconvenience.

 

In this case, why not amend the enforcement decree to temporarily exempt pharmacies from notifying the medical institutions about the substitutions for drugs that are in unstable supply?

 

In the long run, we can also expect to alleviate the concentrated prescription of certain ingredients by removing reimbursement of general medicines used for mild illnesses such as the common cold.

 

However, as such options are not even being considered as a way to solve the supply and demand instability of drugs, this further narrow the options that the government can take.

 

The government should seriously monitor the market first, and consider measures to diversify prescription if other drugs with the same ingredient are left for immediate utilization.