PGEU Medicine Shortages Survey 2021 Results

Each year PGEU conducts a survey among its membership to map the impact of medicine shortages across Europe from the community pharmacists’ perspective. The 2021 PGEU Medicine Shortages Survey Results cover the responses from 27 European countries.

Among the key findings of the survey are:

• The continued high incidence of medicine shortages in most European countries, although most countries reported for the first time in years that the situation did not get worse compared with the previous year.


• The confirmation of occurring shortages of medical devices in pharmacies in most European countries.


• Slight improvement in terms of the average time spent by pharmacists to deal with shortages.


• The daily and burdensome impact medicine shortages have on patients and pharmacy practice across Europe.


• The existing gap in needed information, tools and legal solutions available to community pharmacists in many European countries for providing solutions to patients in case of a shortage.

PGEU President Roberto Tobia commented “The 2021 results show that medicine shortages continue to significantly disrupt patients’ timely access to certain medicines as well as community pharmacy practice. Despite the confirmation of the high incidence of shortages across European countries, it is hopeful to observe that for the first time in years most countries did not note a further worsening of the situation, which is a first step in the right direction. In combination with the expanded legal powers that have been granted to community pharmacists to manage shortages in a number of countries, this has resulted in a slightly reduced average time spent by pharmacists to deal with shortages across Europe.”

“With the ongoing revision of the EU general pharmaceutical legislation, policy makers now have an historic opportunity to create an adequate framework for improved prevention, monitoring and management of shortages across the EU. In this regard, PGEU already welcomes the recent adoption of the EU Regulation on a reinforced role for the European Medicines Agency in crisis preparedness and management as well as the findings of the European Commission study on medicine shortages. PGEU is strongly committed to continue informing and supporting EU and national policy actions that can bring meaningful solutions to patients and healthcare professionals across Europe.”

PGEU’s policy recommendations on the revision of the EU general pharmaceutical legislation can be accessed here.