What is a Medication Shortage?
A medication or drug shortage happens when there is not enough supply of a medication or drug to meet demand.
Why is it Important?
A medication or drug shortage can mean that your pharmacist cannot fill your prescription. Other pharmacies may also run out of supply, leaving you without the medication you need.
1 in 4 Canadians have experienced a drug shortage or know someone who has. Over 2000 drug shortages are reported each year in Canada.
How can I be proactive around medication shortages?
Step 1:
Register as a Public User for free medication shortage alerts here.
Quebec residents: We recommend signing up for these alerts, as the RAMQ may not have updated information.
Search for your medication, using the name of the medication, or the eight-digit Drug Identification Number (DIN) located on the prescription label.
Are you taking medications other than replacement steroids? You can sign up for all other shortage notifications by clicking “receive all notifications” at the above link.
Step 2:
Work with your doctor and talk with your pharmacist to make sure you have the following:
- 3 to 6 months’ supply of medications
- prescription for stress dosing suited to your situation
- check the expiry dates of medications; new prescriptions should have a 2-year expiry date.
Step 3:
Prescribing hydrocortisone stress dose tablets and injectable hydrocortisone (e.g., Solu-Cortef) is the advice given to doctors on how to treat people at risk of adrenal crisis who are injured or ill, to keep them healthy, prevent complications, and death.
Is your doctor not prescribing hydrocortisone stress tablets or injectable hydrocortisone (e.g., Solu-Cortef)? Please share these with your doctor.
Medication Safety Alert—see below. An updated bilingual version is forthcoming.
Step 4:
If your doctor still won’t prescribe hydrocortisone stress tablets or injectable hydrocortisone, this becomes a medication safety incident, because a missed stress dose or missed emergency injection dose is unsafe. It could lead to severe harm or death.
Sharing your experience of not having hydrocortisone stress tablets or injectable hydrocortisone helps identify what can be improved.
You can share your experience here.
In the report, under “Type of error”, select “missed medication or dose”. Under “Level of harm”, indicate how sick you felt or became because you didn’t have the medication you needed.
In “Tell us what happened”, do not write your doctor’s or pharmacist’s name. You can write about any delays in receiving the medication you needed and how this affected you.
Living with adrenal insufficiency means that access to the right medications isn't just a matter of convenience — it's a matter of survival. Medication shortages are a reality that too many Canadians face, but with the right preparation and support, you can protect yourself before a shortage affects you. By staying informed through shortage alerts, maintaining an adequate supply of your medications, and working closely with your healthcare team to ensure you have stress dosing and emergency injection protocols in place, you take back some control in an uncertain landscape. You are not alone in navigating this — the Canadian Addison Society is here to help you find the resources, guidance, and community you need to stay safe.