Perceptions of Egyptian physicians about drug shortage during political disturbances: Survey in Greater Cairo

Background:Drug shortage is a problem that entangles health systems. In Egypt, many complaints arose due to drug shortage in the period following the 25^th January revolution. Physicians play a vital role in dealing with this crisis.Objectives:Our aim was to investigate physicians’ perspective of the drug shortage problem and its impact on the healthcare system.Methods:A questionnaire was adopted and distributed by hand to physicians in customers’ waiting areas in Medical Syndicates Union. The questionnaire covered general participant information, drug shortage effects, physicians’ responses to the problem, the magnitude of the problem and its development three years around the revolution.Results:Of the 319 distributed questionnaires, 192 responses were valid with a response rate of 60%. Most of participants expressed the dire impact of drug shortage on patients’ health. Death as a result of drug shortage was reported by 67 physicians −35% of participants. A significant difference between internal medicine specialists and surgical medicine specialists in perception of drug related deaths was found (p-value = 0.004). A significant negative correlation between number of years of experience and agreement to analogues therapeutic equivalency was found (Spearman’s correlation coefficient = −0.207, P-value = 0.006). About two thirds of participants viewed drug shortages as a cause of inter-professional conflicts. Generally, participants denoted that drug shortage problem is worsening with time since the revolution.Conclusion:Prospective studies are required to quantitatively estimate drug shortage related mortality. Enhanced drug shortage communication by drug authorities and targeted education may relieve inter-professional conflicts resulting from drug shortages.