THE Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has clarified that the disruption to the supply and distribution of certain medicines are due to a number of factors.
According to MMA president Dr Koh Kar Chai the situation became more acute as the world gradually emerged from lockdowns that were implemented to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“An increase in the number of COVID-19 cases as well as the relaxation of standard operating procedures including the reopening of borders have created a demand for medicines for fever, cough, cold and sore throat,” he said in a statement today (July 13).
“During the pandemic, demand for such medicaments were at an all-time low leading to the expiry of medicines which were in storage.
“Manufacturers had to scale down their productions. With a sudden increase in demand, manufacturers had to then resume or scale up their manufacturing to cope with the demand.”
However, Dr Koh acknowledged that this could not happen overnight as there are immense logistical and resource issues to deal with, and on top of this, there is also a shortage of raw materials for the production of medicines.
“Apparently this is not isolated to Malaysia alone. Looking at reports, this is also seen in many other countries,” he commented.
“Currently in Malaysia we see supply disruptions that are sporadic and are at times location-specific. These have all given rise to a logistical nightmare for suppliers as well as purchasers as one never knows when a medicine may suddenly become unavailable in the market.”
Dr Koh further noted that doctors had resorted to using alternatives to the types of medicines which they use regularly, and while these are viable choices for treatment, they impose stress on the doctor who has to continually source for alternative medical supplies.
“The Health Ministry (MOH) has offered to allow clinics which have insufficient stock to tap on their pharmaceutical supplies as a short-term measure and so have certain private hospitals. But these are not feasible solutions for an extended disruption of supply,” he said.
“There have been questions as to what type of medicines are in short supply and when can we expect supply to be back to normal. The situation is fluid with supply of different medicines being disrupted at different times and in different locations.”
On allegations that there are big buyers making large purchases, hence depriving the smaller clinics of their stocks, Dr Koh said, “We hope that there is no truth to this and that supplies can be shared out in the market so that patients will have access to much needed medicines.” – July 13, 2022
