Current situation and countermeasures of medicines shortages in China

Medicines shortages have become a complex global challenge. China experienced frequent shortages of nearly 300 kinds of medicines between 1997 to 2007, 70% of which were in the National Essential Medicines List, covering almost all disease systems. The four main factors leading to the medicines shortages are manufacture, policy, mechanism, and speculative monopoly. Medicines shortages can occur in manufacture, distribution, and consumption. Medicines shortages can lead to delay in patient treatment, increase the work pressure on the medical staff, and put an economic burden on the national health system. International organizations and governments are actively formulating policies to deal with the medicine shortages. The Chinese government has made great efforts to respond to medicines shortages, including establishing medicine shortage monitoring, early warning, and inventory management system, instituting hierarchical linkage response mechanism for the drug supply guarantees, and implementing classified and precise strategies to guarantee the supply of shortage drugs. The author has participated in completing multiple tasks, including formulating the list of children’s drugs encouraging research and development, formulating guidelines for the management of medicines shortages in medical institutions, and preparing technical guidelines for classification and substitution of shortage medicines in medical institutions, and developing a national list of medicines in short supply. With the gradual establishment and improvement of the supply guarantee system for the shortage of medicines, the contradiction of the shortage of medicines in China has been eased. At present, there are few large-scale and long-term shortages.

Biography :

Dr. Lingli Zhang focuses on research on evidence-based drug decision-making and management, and has long been committed to evidencebased research and translation of national drug policies. She is a member of the FIP Drug Shortage Policy Committee and participated in the formulation of the “FIP statement of policy on medicines shortages”. She has made outstanding contributions to national drug policy research and decision-making, including: entrusted by the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China, as a core expert to participate in the formulation of the national proposal “Access to Essential Medicines” (WHA 67.22) submitted and approved by China to the World Health Assembly; And entrusted by the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China, led the formulation of a national proposal “Promoting innovation and Access to Quality, Safe, Efficacious and Affordable Medicines for Children “ (WHA69.20) submitted by China to the World Health Organization and adopted by the World Health Assembly, highlighting China’s role in this area Right to speak internationally.

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