By Gavin Miller

Expect possible inventory shortages at pharmacies in Medicine Hat

Jan 14, 2022 | 3:27 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Operational challenges at a wholesale provider for pharmacies has created shortages in southern Alberta.

McKesson Canada works with manufacturers to deliver vaccines, over the counter drugs, specialty medications and consumer products.

With distribution centers across the country, McKesson Canada provides distribution for 1,350 hospitals and 7,100 pharmacies.

In a statement to CHAT News, spokesperson Andrew Forgione said the company is being challenged by a rise in COVID-related absenteeism in the company and a switch to a new transportation partner. The full statement is below.

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Greg Bueckert is the owner and pharmacist at Greg’s Remedy’s Drugs in Medicine Hat.

He expects the disruptions to last at least another six months.

“You really cant make any promises and yet you have people being released from hospital. They need their meds and normally they would have them.”

Bueckert has resorted to ordering rapid tests from Florida by air, leading to higher costs for the local pharmacy.

“We’re doing whatever we can to make sure we can continue testing people because everybody’s got something they want to do and for work. There’s all kinds of reasons you need a rapid test.”

Bueckert couldn’t get into the specifics of what is unavailable, but said right now they’re having trouble getting 30 to 40 types of medication.

Supply chain issues have contributed to a number of shortages across all industries.

McKesson Canada statement:

“We would like to acknowledge the challenges our customers have encountered over the course of the pandemic, but particularly as cases of the Omicron variant have risen dramatically in the past few weeks.

McKesson Canada, like most businesses, has also been impacted by the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, experiencing growing absenteeism throughout our operations. We are also currently seeing unprecedented customer ordering volume, including COVID-19 vaccines to support Alberta’s expanded booster program.

Unrelated to COVID-19, but similarly challenging to our operations are disruptions caused by the continued state of emergency in British Columbia, internal infrastructure improvement activities including our transition to a new regional transportation partner.

While these factors have impacted our ability to serve some of our customers in Southern Alberta, we would like to assure our customers that we are working tirelessly to rectify these issues and we will continue to keep them, and public health officials, updated on our progress.”