Drug Shortage and Ethical Issues: Integrating Multidisciplinary Perspectives with a Shared Ethical Framework

The article examines drug shortages, highlighting multi-causal factors, ethical challenges, and proposes a multidisciplinary framework combining economic and ethical perspectives to guide research, policy, and resource allocation.

Educational Objectives

Educational Aim:

To provide pharmacists with an understanding of the causes, impacts, and ethical considerations of drug shortages, and to introduce a multidisciplinary framework for guiding research and policy decisions.

Educational Outcomes:
Upon completion of this module practitioners should have a clear understanding of:

1. The multi-causal nature of drug shortages and their downstream impacts on patient care and healthcare systems.
2. The ethical challenges in allocating scarce medical resources, including equity, patient harm, and prioritization.
3. How combining economic and ethical frameworks can guide research, policy, and clinical decision-making to prioritize patient interests.

Instructions for this Module

• Read the supplied reading material and complete the quiz that follows;
• You have three attempts to pass the quiz;
• The pass grade is 70%;
• You need to pass the quiz to claim your CPD certificate;
• Please click on the CPD certificate link below to claim your CPD certificate and to update your CPD Manager.

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