Pharmaceutical supply shortages have become a persistent, global challenge. Atlas McNeil Healthcare Community Team discusses.
Atlas McNeil Healthcare Community Team
The pandemic exacerbated certain factors, but even as COVID stabilised, many of the structural vulnerabilities in the supply chain remained. In May of 2026, the European Parliament and Council reached provisional agreement on the Critical Medicines Act, a regulation designed to diversify supply chains for critical medicines, enable member states to procure jointly, and expand EU manufacturing capacity for key medicines and their active ingredients through designated strategic projects. Formal adoption is expected later in 2026. That a regulation of this scope reached agreement at all reflects how far the consequences of shortage now reach.
All across Europe, patients continue to experience delays and shortages when attempting to fulfil certain prescriptions. The ripple effect of this is significant. Some are operational: doctors and pharmacists overwhelmed with requests to prescribe alternative medicine. Sometimes this requires follow up appointments. There are also financial implications, especially when pharmacies are competing for stock.
Understanding the impact more fully is vital as organisations and ordinary medical providers seek to build a more resilient supply chain that better protects patient outcomes.
Why pharmaceutical supply shortages extend beyond missing medicines
About half of all drug shortages in the EU are linked to manufacturing issues. These are largely caused by steep competition over the resources needed to make and distribute many drugs, as well as the fact that most of Europe’s pharmaceuticals and active ingredients are sourced from just a handful of countries, mainly China and India.
Drug shortages are not simply an issue of drug availability. Continuity of care depends on more than medicines alone: wound care, continence, and nutrition products reach patients through separate channels for healthcare and medical supplies, and those channels contend with comparable margin pressure and sourcing concentration.
Here are some of the key ways in which pharmaceutical supply shortages disrupt healthcare operations, increase costs, and affect patient outcomes:
The administrative burden of finding substitutes
Finding a substitute is often the first hurdle of a drug shortfall. While some drugs have fairly straightforward substitutes, many do not. Clinicians often need to adjust treatment plans and pharmacists may have to engage with suppliers to source higher volumes of alternate stock to make up for the gaps. Once a substitute is found, the patient may need added monitoring. This can look like extra check-up calls or in-person appointments and blood tests.
The commercial consequence is frequently overlooked. Once a prescriber has moved a stable patient onto an alternative and that alternative works, there is little clinical incentive to move them back. A shortage lasting weeks can cost a product a share of its treated population permanently. Supply reliability is not only a compliance matter, it is a retention mechanism..
The expense of sourcing drugs in a shortfall
Financial pressures tend to complicate the situation further. Price regulations don’t necessarily prevent healthcare providers from feeling the burden of expedited shipping costs on in-demand drugs.
In some instances, the regulations have been cited as a reason for manufacturers to not increase operations to match demand. They can’t always justify the financial investment which then forces pharmacists and clinicians to look elsewhere. The task of rethinking sourcing is in itself costly and time-consuming.
The potential loss of efficiency
Drug shortfalls place added strain on clinic and pharmacy resources and in doing so, threaten the overall efficiency of medical systems. In some instances, procedures have to be postponed until a patient’s medications are stabilised. This has a knock-on effect throughout a clinic. Even just the administrative burden can reduce efficiency and steal attention away from other important areas.
Patient care is interrupted
A major worry is how drug shortages can affect patient care. Patients may experience delayed treatment, be subject to additional monitoring or even face different side effects because of substitutions.
A BBC article from 2025 described the way in which a shortage of ADHD medications impacted one patient’s ability to function daily, as well as the anxiety that came with worrying about each subsequent prescription. Many are grappling with similar consequences that again point to the ripple effect that drug shortages have on patient lives, and the healthcare services tasked with supporting them.
Building a more resilient supply chain
Reducing drug shortages requires co-ordinated, large-scale adjustments to the supply chain. Much of this will have to come from lawmakers. That said, there are a few key changes that those in the medical system can make to help build greater resilience:
Diversify the supply chain
Establishing a diversified supplier network across different geographic locations can help reduce the impact of localised shortages. This is especially important for critical medicines without easy substitutes.
Improve demand forecasting
Historical data can illuminate trends in both consumption patterns and drug shortage trends. This can at least help pharmacies and clinicians plan more efficiently.
Invest in supply chain visibility
Digital supply chain tools that provide accurate, real-time visibility into shipments and inventory can help medical providers better weigh when it’s worth waiting for a drug delivery versus prescribing a substitute. Better visibility can also help flag shortages before they hit crisis point.
Collaborative procurement and information haring
The medical system has a lot more power when providers work together. By leaning on the vast medical network, even smaller clinics and pharmacies can access critical supplier updates and early warning signs of impending shortages.
Develop a shortage plan
A plan that covers not just substitutions but the workflow and risks that need to be assessed during that process can speed things up and reduce the chance of delayed treatment for patients. The plan ideally also needs to include reaching out to other stakeholders, suppliers, and distributors, so that the shortage can be addressed collaboratively.
Conclusion
Pharmaceutical supply shortages have consequences that reach far beyond a single, unfilled prescription. The administrative strain, as well as the potential treatment delay that shortfalls can cause for patients has consequences across the healthcare system.
It’s exactly for that reason that medical systems need to become more proactive about this issue. Creating more diversified, collaborative, and visible supply chains can help in both reducing the frequency of drug shortages and their impact on patients and providers.