The only bio-identical estradiol gel covered by the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ), which has been off the shelves for several weeks, will soon be back in pharmacies. Organon Canada, which produces Estrogel, says it has started restocking wholesalers and expects its treatment for menopausal symptoms to be available within “a few days.”
The duty reported this week the impact of the shortage on patients having to go without the product. According to several gynecologists, some patients had been told by their pharmacists to “stretch their dose” and wait until supplies returned to normal. The Quebec Association of Pharmacy Distributors had also confirmed that Estrogel had been the subject of a shortage report for some time. Calls made to several pharmacies had also confirmed the situation, with several pharmacists saying they had already sold out of their stocks.
The Quebec Ministry of Health, for its part, ensures that patients did not have to suffer from this shortage of stock, since the RAMQ had provided temporary coverage, during the shortage, of magistral preparations of estradiol-17β produced by pharmacists.
This hormone should be taken on a regular basis by women taking hormone therapy to alleviate persistent symptoms of menopause or postmenopause, including insomnia, hot flashes or extreme fatigue.
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