Dr Kelvin Yii tells NPRA to extensively audit pharmaceutical stock across public and private facilities, adding that health care providers should start rationing medicines now.
Private hospitals say life-saving treatments and medicines for critical illnesses are still available for now, including cardiovascular and cancer drugs.
The National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency asked local pharmaceutical suppliers and manufacturers, as well as multinational pharmaceutical companies, to help address the medicine supply problem.
Malaysian pharmaceutical suppliers expect worsening shortages not only of OTC drugs, but medicines across all therapeutic segments in the mid- to long-term.