AB006. Impact and approach for drug shortages on patient care: a case report of finasteride unavailability for benign prostatic hyperplasia in a public hospital
Abstract

AB006. Impact and approach for drug shortages on patient care: a case report of finasteride unavailability for benign prostatic hyperplasia in a public hospital

Angel Alejandro Cabrera Maya

School of Medicine and Health Sciences, the Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico City, Mexico

Correspondence to: Angel Alejandro Cabrera Maya, Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery. School of Medicine and Health Sciences, the Tecnológico de Monterrey, Av. Ignacio Morones Prieto 3000, Sertoma, 64710 Monterrey, N.L., Mexico City, Mexico. Email: A01197713@tec.mx.

Background: Drug shortages have a severe impact on patients and the sustainability of the healthcare system, resulting in delayed or inadequate treatment, increased costs, and ultimately worsened health outcomes. Groups in disadvantaged circumstances, including low-income individuals and those with chronic conditions, are disproportionately affected. This case report highlights a unique instance of drug shortage and its impact on patient care, focusing on the challenges faced by healthcare facilities in ensuring the availability of essential medications, such as finasteride, for conditions like benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Case Description: A 63-year-old male with BPH was initiated on tamsulosin 0.4 mg and finasteride 5 mg once daily. However, in May 2023, a complaint was received stating that the patient had not received his cost-free treatment due to finasteride unavailability in the public hospital’s pharmacy stock. In an effort to resolve the shortage issue, an extraordinary request was submitted to the Supply Control Department of the State of Mexico’s Health Institute, but said request did not receive a response. To address the patient’s inability to access the medication, the hospital administration made an extraordinary purchase of finasteride with the purpose of ensuring treatment continuity.

Conclusions: This case report highlights the impact of drug shortages on patient care, particularly in terms of compromised treatment and patient outcomes. It underscores the need for proactive measures, effective communication and comprehensive approaches to address drug shortages. Ensuring uninterrupted access to essential medications is crucial to improving patient care outcomes. By addressing these challenges, healthcare systems can strive to provide consistent and optimal treatment for all patients, regardless of medication availability constraints.

Keywords: Case report; medication supply; access to healthcare; drug shortage; Mexico

Acknowledgments

Funding: None.

Footnote

Conflicts of Interest: The author has completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://jphe.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/jphe-2023-apru-ab006/coif). The author has no conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The author is accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. All procedures performed this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committees and with the Helsinki Declaration (as revised in 2013). Written informed consent for publication of this abstract was not obtained from the patient or the relatives after all possible attempts were made. The abstract has been sufficiently anonymized to cause no harm to the patient or his family.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the noncommercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

doi: 10.21037/jphe-2023-apru-ab006
Cite this abstract as: Cabrera Maya AA. AB006. Impact and approach for drug shortages on patient care: a case report of finasteride unavailability for benign prostatic hyperplasia in a public hospital. J Public Health Emerg 2024;8:AB006.

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