Is The COVID-19 Pandemic Reason, Shortage Result? A Survey Study on Drug Shortages in Turkish Oncology Clinics

Abstract

Aim: The rapid development of the drug industry led to a great spectrum of medical treatment, especially in oncology practice. The prescribed drug alternations increased three times in the United States. Also, the increased drug numbers led to drug shortages, which doubled during this period in the oncology era. In this study, we try to evaluate the oncology clinics' drug supply last year in the eyes of oncology practitioners Methods: We conducted an online questionnaire via Google Forms on the drug shortages which are faced last year by oncologists in Turkey. Our study is a cross-sectional study.The SPSS 25 software was used for statistical analysis Results: Eighty-nine percent of the participants declared they had a drug shortage last year. The most affected drug groups were chemotherapeutics (61,4%), biologic agents (anti-VEGF, anti-EGFR agents, etc.) (56,8%), immunologic drugs (available anti-PD1 drugs) (54,5%), and supportive medicines (Folinic acid, GCSF, etc.) (42%). 61 percent of the oncologists referred their patients to other clinics to get over the drug shortage. The most common reasons were supply problems (70%), drug companyrelated concerns due to exchange rates (68%), hospital budget problems (48%), and bureaucratic procedures (47%). There was a significant difference between drug shortage and participants' hospitals. Also, the shortage has significantly lasted longer in university hospitals. Conclusion: Our study showed an extensive drug shortage in oncology clinics last year independent of drug types. University hospitals had reported worse results compared with other organizations. There is an urgent need for further evaluation of drug shortages and the availability of oncologic drugs and the prognostic effect of this phenomenon.