Medicine shortages and availability issues: guidance for patients and healthcare professionals

Guidance is available from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on the measures that patient and healthcare professional organisations can take to help prevent and manage shortages of human medicines in the EU.

EMA's guidance includes the following key measures that patient and healthcare professional organisations can take:

• Setting up observatories for collecting and analysing information from patients and healthcare professionals on shortages and the early warning signs, together with the national competent authorities
• Defining criteria and ways for developing registries of essential and critical medicines, together with the national competent authorities
• Setting up campaigns across the EU to raise awareness of:
  • where to find information on ongoing medicine shortages;
  • the risks of stockpiling medicines;
  • safe use of medicines given as an alternative during a shortage.

The guidance draws on best practices and initiatives of individual EU Member States.

EMA developed the guidance in consultation with its Patients' and Consumers' Working Party and the Healthcare Professionals' Working Party.

It published the guidance in July 2022. 

Good practice guidance for patient and healthcare professional organisations on the prevention of shortages of medicines for human use

Reference Number: EMA/397143/2020

Related information materials
Factsheet: Towards better prevention of medicine shortages	Info-cards: What can you do when it comes to shortages of medicines?
Factsheet: Towards better prevention of medicine shortages	Info-cards: What can you do when it comes to shortages of medicines?