Mohawk Medbuy Members Come Together to Help Preserve Access to Vital Pediatric Medication
Pediatric pharmacy is a highly specialized area of hospital pharmacy care. Access to appropriate formulations, particularly liquid (suspension) medications that can be safely and accurately dosed for children, is essential to providing the best possible care for this patient population.
That’s why Mohawk Medbuy’s (MMC’s) Pharmacy Pediatric Subcommittee acted quickly when a manufacturer announced plans to discontinue Canada’s only commercially available ciprofloxacin oral suspension – a vital pediatric medication that’s often one of the only practical, broad-spectrum oral treatment options for complicated infections, including those caused by certain antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Ciprofloxacin suspension is more than a convenience for hospital pharmacies. Since children often experience challenges swallowing tablets, timely access to this medication in liquid form helps avoid treatment through intravenous therapy, which can result in delayed discharge from hospital and other risks to the patient, along with increased use of health system resources.
As the pharmacy supply chain partner of choice for many of Canada's children's hospitals, MMC brings clinicians together through our highly collaborative shared services model. Our Pharmacy Pediatric Subcommittee is an MMC-led forum for hospital pharmacy leaders to share expertise, discuss emerging issues and work collectively to advocate for solutions that support Canada’s youngest patients.
After receiving notice of the planned discontinuation, the Subcommittee identified significant clinical and operational concerns for hospital pharmacies, including:
Likely having to rely on compounded alternatives created from tablets
A limited availability of compounding pharmacies impacting efficient and timely access to the medication
Concerns around palatability of the compounded medication and subsequent adherence in children
MMC and the Subcommittee collaborated to articulate the impacts of the planned discontinuation, then amplified this information through established advocacy pathways. This included Canada’s Provincial and Territorial Drug Shortages Task Team (PT DSTT), a federal intergovernmental body that liaises with manufacturers, provincial ministries and other system stakeholders to respond to drug shortages.
At the same time, MMC leveraged our strong relationships with suppliers to communicate Member concerns about the discontinuation’s impact directly.
These collective efforts made a difference, with the manufacturer ultimately reversing their decision and committing to continuing production of the medication for the Canadian market.
“This successful outcome demonstrates how our Members’ expertise and engagement power our shared services model,” said Vivian Lee, Clinical Director, Pharmacy Services at MMC. “Our Pharmacy Pediatric Subcommittee serves as a community of practice – we come together to identify issues early, specify the impact on patient care and advocate for solutions. The response to ciprofloxacin demonstrates how this highly collaborative approach can help drive meaningful change for our Members and, ultimately, the patients in their care.”
While medication supply disruptions remain an ongoing challenge for Canadian health care, this outcome demonstrates the value of early collaboration, shared expertise and coordinated advocacy in supporting the best possible outcomes.