PETALING JAYA: Several commitments, including early notices to healthcare providers over the possible shortage of certain medication, have been agreed between the Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia and Pharmaceutical Association of Malaysia.

In a joint statement on Wednesday (July 6) by APHM and PhAMA presidents Datuk Dr Kuljit Singh and Chin Keat Chyuan, both associations said that a dialogue was conducted to discuss the current medical supply shortage in the country.

"Sporadic medicine shortages are not a new occurrence in the healthcare eco-system.

“However, both APHM and PhAMA acknowledge that the volatile conditions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and conflict in certain parts of the world has been disruptive to business operations and logistics in unprecedented ways. “Despite also being affected by global issues of logistic bottlenecks and labour shortage, PhAMA and APHM members agree that there should be no compromise on patient safety and treatment outcomes," the statement said.

Among the commitments reached from the dialogue include an early notification system for shortages of certain products and improved partnership between parties to ease borrowing of medicines in times of critical shortages.

They added that they would also engage with the Pharmacy Services Programme (PSP) and National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Authority (NPRA) to improve access to medicines to patients.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2022/07/06/pharmaceutical-association-private-hospitals-to-ensure-early-notification-of-medicine-shortage