Link to EAHP Statements

• Section 2 – Selection, Procurement and Distribution: Statements – 2.5
• Section 4 – Clinical Pharmacy: Statements – 4.7

Abstract

While medication shortages have occurred in the past, they have become more frequent and severe in the last decade. These shortages have had a significant impact on emergency departments (EDs), as many of the medications used in critical situations have been affected by shortages.

Medication shortages can lead to medication errors when, for example, physicians are forced to prescribe alternative options with which they are unfamiliar. Similarly, nursing staff, who are accustomed to administering one product, may cause a medication error when administering its substitute to which they are not familiar.

Hospital Pharmacists (HPs) play an active role in developing and implementing mitigation strategies to overcome the negative impact that medication shortages could have on patients' outcomes. Such mitigation strategies include i) dissemination of information on medication shortages that could affect ED, ii) collaboration with ED physicians on the selection and use of substitutes for medications in shortage, and iii) provision of education on safe prescribing and administration of substitute medications.

This interactive session will focus on the mitigation strategies that HPs, in collaboration with ED physicians and nursing staff, use to minimize the adverse outcomes that medication shortages could cause to patients admitted to ED.

Learning objectives

After the session, the participant should be able to:

• Outline the essential role of the HP in the presence of shortages of medications used within the ED
• Describe the mitigation strategies available in the ED that can be used to reduce the harmful effects caused by medication shortages
• Discuss the importance of effective communication and collaboration between HPs and ED physicians and nursing staff in the management of medication shortages, including the use of substitute medications

Educational need addressed 

This workshop addresses the strategies that HPs use to mitigate the adverse events that medication shortages could cause to patients admitted to ED. 

Keywords

Emergency medicine, medication shortages, mitigation strategies