2025 EAHP Medicines and Medical Devices Shortages Survey

Problems caused by medicines shortages are serious, threaten patient care in hospitals and require urgent action. Medicines are not simple items of commerce, they are an essential component of patient care and in the hospital sector they must be administered to the patient in a timely manner. Managing medicines shortages and ensuring continuity of supply can also cause the diversion of significant amounts of the time and attention of a hospital pharmacist from other tasks important in the provision of high quality, safe and efficacious care. Furthermore, the medicines shortage problem can undermine efforts to reduce costs in health systems as often, in the case of shortage, a more costly alternative must be used – or worse, a less effective alternative.

For over a decade, EAHP has been actively raising awareness about the challenges associated with medicine shortages and their impact on patient care in hospitals. Through persistent advocacy, this issue has gained increasing recognition at the European level. Despite ongoing efforts by hospital pharmacists to mitigate the problem, medicine shortages have continued to escalate across Europe.

In 2025, EAHP conducted its latest Shortages Survey to assess the scale of the issue.

Hospital pharmacists confirmed that medicines shortages affect patient care (89%) and pharmacy operations (79%), with global shortages of active pharmaceutical ingredients, manufacturing issues, and pricing identified as the main causes.  All respondents hospital pharmacists experienced shortages of critical medicines at least one to three times in 2024.

Medical device shortages also remain significant, with 53% of hospital pharmacist reporting impacts on patient care and 45% on pharmacy operations, mainly due to supply chain problems and shortages or discontinuation of components.

Hospital pharmacists consistently reported delays in care or therapy, cancellation of care, and suboptimal treatment as major consequences of medicines shortages. While for medical devices shortages, they reported delays in care, increased length of stay in hospital, and cancellation of care as major consequences.

Overall, the findings confirm that shortages persist, continuing to affect both patient care and hospital pharmacy activities.

To ensure patients always receive the appropriate medicines and medical devices, EAHP urges policymakers at the European and national level to:

• Enhance coordination between European institutions and Member States, ensuring the involvement of all supply chain actors, including hospital pharmacists and other healthcare professionals.
• Strengthen solidarity among European countries.
• Set-up national task forces, comprised of agencies, industries and frontline healthcare professionals like hospital pharmacists to discuss and adopt proactive measures for combatting shortages including performing joint risk assessments, based on timely provided information.
• Require safety plans and risk assessments for manufacturers.
• Support and increase risk assessment practices in hospitals.
• Support the European production of active pharmaceutical ingredients, especially when it comes to products with a high dependency on outside sources.
• Safeguard and facilitate hospital pharmacists’ role in compounding to offer adequate patient care.
• Introduce procurement practices based on comprehensive set of criteria, not solely on the price.

Have a look at the latest EAHP report on shortages HERE

The overview of EAHP reports on shortages is available HERE 

EAHP’s Opinion on the Critical Medicines Act

On 11 March 2025, the European Commission published its proposal for a Critical Medicines Act. This initiative outlines key actions such as incentivising strategic projects, rethinking procurement models, and fostering international strategic partnerships to strengthen the EU’s medicine supply resilience.

The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) welcomes the inclusion of several recommendations developed through multi-stakeholder initiatives, notably the Structured Dialogue and the Critical Medicines Alliance, in which EAHP played an active role.

However, EAHP believes further efforts are essential to ensure the Act delivers meaningful, patient-centred impact, and therefore calls for:

• Regular assessments to ensure incentives and public funds are used appropriately and effectively.
• Involvement of hospital pharmacists in all medicines procurement processes.
• Collaborative approaches and transparent information sharing among stakeholders, including the active participation of relevant civil society representatives in decisions that affect their daily life.
• Further inclusion of the Critical Medicines Alliance recommendations on topics such as the coordination on stockpiling and the development of strategic partnerships.
• Frequent updates to the Union List of Critical Medicines, with the possibility for healthcare professionals to report shortages and share information on therapeutic alternatives.

Read the EAHP’s Opinion on the Critical Medicines Act HERE

EAHP’s position paper on shortages

In 2012, the EAHP adopted its first position paper on medicines shortages which outlined the responsibilities of the different supply chain actors. A revision in 2019 led to the adoption of EAHP’ latest position paper on medicines shortages which

advises national governments to evaluate if their shortages measures and management systems are fit for purpose and to rectify shortcomings where and when needed;

urges national governments and healthcare organisations to evoke appropriate staffing levels in order to lower the impact that medicines shortages currently have on the overall patient services provided by hospital pharmacists;

calls on the European Commission to urgently commence an investigation of the medicines shortage problem looking at the causing factors and propose solutions that will help alleviate or solve shortages;

appeals for improved information exchange between authorities and supply chain actors as well as best practice sharing and implementation support on shortage management strategies between relevant national regulatory bodies to support patient safety; and,

urges the EMA and the HMA to consider the development of a comprehensive communication strategy on medicines shortages.

EAHP adopted a new position paper on Medicines Shortages during the 54th EAHP General Assembly in 2024. Please find the positon paper HERE.