Today in Australia, critical medical devices used in women’s health are running low, or have become entirely unavailable — leading to potentially serious consequences for women.
According to the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologist (RANZCOG), access to medications and devices in Australia has became more challenging, as rising demand, global supply chain issues, withdrawal of drugs from the Australian market, and regulatory barriers exacerbate the shortages.
Many women and pregnant people have found themselves struggling to obtain regular medicines, while others have been suffering under treatment delays, limited choice of alternative medicines and financial constraints.
Today, RANZCOG is holding a day-long workshop with key stakeholders to find solutions for improving medication supply and use in women’s health.
The roundtable, involving individuals from government, industry, healthcare providers, and NGOs, hopes to improve the health outcomes for women and pregnant people by looking at short and longer-term pathways to improving medication and devices supply.
One topic of discussion will be the diminishing supplies of copper intrauterine devices (IUDs), a long-acting, non-hormonal contraceptive available for women. Due to the recent scarcity, many women have been forced to accept a less preferable alternative, or leave contraception to chance.
Dr Sarah Cox, a GP specialising in women’s health, said that a lack of copper IUDs has impacted many women seeking non-hormonal contraception, whatever their reasoning.
“In the termination-of-pregnancy space, some of these women cannot safely rely on their partners to use barrier contraception and so are then forced to either leave contraception to chance or use a non-preferred alternative,” she said. “Consequently, there is potential for women to return for repeat procedures that could have been avoided with the appropriate IUD supply.”
First Nations women and those living in regional, rural, and remote areas are disproportionately affected by these shortages. They are also forced to attend smaller healthcare facilities and community pharmacies which often lack the resources to ensure a steady supply of medications.
Dr Anna Clare, Obstetrician Gynaecologist, RANZCOG WA Councillor and Co-Chair of today’s roundtable, said the shortages are an issue we can no longer stand to tolerate.
“The persistent shortage of key medicines and lack of available devices used daily by clinicians is extremely concerning and in the worst cases, can lead to negative health outcomes for our patients,” she said.
“As doctors dedicated to providing the best possible care to our patients, it’s imperative that we are provided with the tools to do our jobs well. Medicines and devices are those tools.”
“We wouldn’t expect a carpenter to build a house without timber or a nail gun, so why do we expect care providers to provide treatment for our patients whilst facing persistent shortages of key medicines and devices?”
In a statement announcing the roundtables, RANZCOG highlighted the systemic gender-based inequities with medication and device availability via the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) — which was revealed in the recent Senate inquiries into reproductive health and menopause.
Via the PBS, newer medications and contraceptive devices are unavailable to most women, and only accessible through private prescriptions.
Since 1992, no new oral contraceptives have been added to the PBS. Newer oral options such as combined and progesterone only pills are roughly three times the price of PBS options.
Women who require essential medicines that are not listed on the PBS are often forced to pay out of pocket, accept a less effective alternative, or go without medication entirely.
“Urgent intervention is required to prevent worsening shortages and will necessitate collaboration between government, industry, and healthcare workers,” RANZCOG said in a letter.
“Solutions must navigate the challenges of the current sponsor-driven regulatory environment to secure a consistent supply of critical medications into Australia.”
According to Associate Professor Amanda Henry, Obstetrician Gynaecologist, RANZCOG NSW Councillor and fellow Co-Chair of the roundtable, a concerted effort is required to mitigate the adverse impact of medication and device shortages within women’s health and achieve equitable health outcomes.
“We are determined to address the root causes of pregnancy medicine and device shortages in Australia,” she said. “Solutions may not be simple, but we are fully committed to working together with consumers, clinicians, and all stakeholders to overcome these challenges.”
“Today is just the first step towards achieving improved outcomes for the pregnant women and families we care for.”