The EU wants to get a better picture of the many different medicines currently in short supply in Europe.
There is currently a shortage of 346 medical products in Ireland, according to data from the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA).
Under EU law, the HPRA is required to keep a public list of current shortages of medicines for human consumption, as well as veterinary medicines for animals.
Drugs shortages has become a perennial problem for many European countries.
It came to ahead during the pandamic when China began restricting the supply of key raw materials vital to the pharmaceutical industry.
That led to calls to safeguard supplies in Europe in future. But also better information about when and where shortages are occurring.
In many cases patients are able to use alternative medicines when their usual prescription is not available, but shortages raises the risk that some treatments might not be available.
The European Medicines Agency says a ‘European Shortages Monitoring Platform’ is now fully up and running.
That allows drugs companies, so-called ‘marketing authorisation holders’, to flag up shortages across the EU in one go.
Routine shortage reporting has been underway since last November. From next month reporting to the shortages platform will be mandatory, the European Medicines Agency says.
Common reasons for shortages include global manufacturing issues, shipping delays and unexpected increases in demands for some drugs.