Health
Shortage of Key Diabetes Drugs, Barbados Drug Service Assures Adequate Alternatives
Barbados Drug Service (BDS) reports shortages of key brand-name drugs for diabetes management, including insulin. Acting director emphasizes alternative options available, reassuring patients not to panic.
4 min read
Originally published by barbadostoday.bb (opens in new tab)
Key brand name drugs to treat diabetes and other illnesses are in short supply on the island, the head of the Barbados Drug Service (BDS) said Monday. But she said there was no need to panic.
A widely used brand of insulin, used to help manage blood sugar levels, is among select drugs in short supply, said the BDS’ acting director Delores Mascoll, but there are several other brands available.
“Right now, we are experiencing some serious challenges with drug shortages, and many of these challenges aren’t just with generic products, but quite a few of them are with branded products, and this is not normal. So we are seeing challenges where the manufacturers of these branded products are having difficulty at the point of their manufacturing. It’s either raw material shortages or problems within the actual manufacturing process,” she said after the Government of India handed over a refrigerated truck for the BDS.
Mascoll stressed that there is no need for patients to panic, as an easily accessible generic brand is still available.
“One of the biggest challenges we are facing right now is a shortage with a particular brand of insulin. Now I don’t want patients to panic, because there is an alternative to that particular brand of insulin which is readily available at this point in time. It may just be a matter of them having to liaise with their physician so that they can be changed to that particular brand of insulin temporarily until the supply has been reestablished to the other brand. I just want patients to understand that,” she explained.
Mascoll also sought to respond to concerns from some patients that there have been changes to the national drug formulary, which sees patients who previously were able to get five insulin pens per month now only get two.
She explained that though the change was made to protect the supplies of the easy-to-use pens due to the shortages, vials are still available and are effective.
“There are two particular brands of insulin where you get it in a 10ml vial, or you can get it as a pen that holds 300ml. So the 10ml vial is 1000 units, whereas the pen is 300 units. It is more cost-effective for the Barbados Drug Service for patients on high doses of insulin, to give them the vial, than it is to give them multiple pens [because] the pens are more expensive. The pens are more convenient, I agree, but they are more expensive for persons to maintain on high doses.”
