Drug supply shortages and their consequences for the medical profession: a survey in Germany and Austria

Drug supply shortages are increasingly becoming a critical topic in the treatment of patients. Not only the reasons for the supply shortages are important but also their consequences for the medical profession. Firstly, this paper identifies which drug shortages have particularly affected medical doctors. Secondly, the additional time required for medical doctors due to supply shortages is analysed. A survey was conducted with 895 physicians from Germany and Austria using a purposive sampling method. The survey targets the supply shortages and its consequences for the medical profession of 20 commonly used drugs. All survey questions referred to the time span from November 2022 to January 2024. Penicillin V and amoxicillin emerged as the drugs most seriously affected by drug supply shortage although the severity to which physicians were affected by the individual 20 drug shortages varied regionally (Germany/Austria), depending on the place of work (practice/clinic) and the physicians’ specialty. Drug shortages reported by survey participants did not necessarily match official reporting of drug shortage. There was also a substantial increase in time required for medical doctors handling drug shortages. The most additional time burden per affected drug was recognised in haematology/oncology with 46 min, followed by psychiatry (37 min), nephrology (37 min), and general medicine (28 min). The identification of specific critical drugs, specific disciplines, and defined time-consuming factors offer starting points for improvements. Moreover, exact reporting of drug shortages by official authorities is important. Encouraging more judicious prescribing practices may help reduce perceived shortages.