:format():fill())
The Australian & New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine (ANZSPM) says the withdrawals have resulted in prescriptions for less-effective medicines and increased confusion over dosage and side-effects.
Shortages began when British pharmaceutical company Mundipharma announced they would no longer supply oral liquid morphine to the Australian market.
Dr Michelle Gold, ANZSPM President and Director of Palliative Medicine at the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, said patients currently receiving end-of-life care deserve better than they are getting.
“Patients who are reaching the end of their life are suffering additional distress and uncertainty due to the ongoing shortage of morphine-based medicines in Australia," Dr Gold said.