(B-064) Impact of supply chain disruptions and drug shortages on drug utilization: a scoping review

Background: Drug shortages are a growing challenge in health systems across the world. A better understanding of the impacts of shortages on patient drug access and use will guide polices aimed at mitigating shortages.

Objective: This scoping review aims to summarize observational literature assessing the impact of drug shortages on drug utilization trends.

Methods: We searched Ovid MEDLINE and Ovid EMBASE for studies published between 1946 to September 17, 2024. An extensive grey literature search was conducted through targeted website searches, grey literature databases and the Google search engine. Observational studies examining the impacts of drug supply disruptions on drug use were included. Study screening and extraction were conducted by two independent reviewers.

Results: We identified 55 published articles and 5 grey literature reports. Most studies were conducted in North America (n = 42, 70%). Population level data was most used (n = 34, 57%), and most studies used drug prescription data to assess changes in use (n = 30, 55%). Most studies reported changes in drug use as a percent change and the magnitude in decreases ranged from 1-99%. Many different data sources, methods and measures were used to study the impact of drug shortages on drug utilization, and a broad range of decreases in drug utilization following the shortages were reported.

Conclusions: It is important to synthesize findings across studies to understand how different drugs and settings are affected by shortages. The findings here can inform future studies on drug shortages and assist in developing frameworks and policy decisions regarding drug supply challenges.