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About RxWatch

Free, real-time drug shortage intelligence for Canadians

Important Medical Disclaimer

This is not medical advice. RxWatch is an informational tool only.

Always consult your pharmacist, doctor, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any changes to your medications.

Alternative medication suggestions require verification by a healthcare professional. Do not switch medications without professional guidance.

What is RxWatch?

RxWatch is a free, open-source tool that helps Canadians stay informed about drug shortages affecting medications they depend on. We aggregate data from official government sources and present it in an easy-to-understand format.

Our goal is to help patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers:

Check if a medication is currently in shortage
Find potential therapeutic alternatives (for discussion with your doctor)
Track when shortages are resolved
Understand which medications are being discontinued

RxWatch is not affiliated with Health Canada, Drug Shortages Canada, or any pharmaceutical company.

Data Sources

All data comes from official Canadian government and regulatory sources

Drug Shortages Canada (DSC)

The mandatory reporting system for drug shortages and discontinuations in Canada. Pharmaceutical companies are legally required to report shortages to this database.

Shortage reports, discontinuation notices, status updates, company information, shortage reasons, and estimated resolution dates.

Health Canada Drug Product Database (DPD)

The official database of all drugs authorized for sale in Canada. Contains detailed information about drug formulations, ingredients, and manufacturers.

Drug identification numbers (DINs), active ingredients, dosage forms, routes of administration, therapeutic classifications (ATC codes), and manufacturer information.

Data Freshness

How often we update our data

Shortage Reports

Updated every 15 minutes from Drug Shortages Canada API

Drug Catalog

Updated daily from Health Canada Drug Product Database

The last sync time is displayed in the header of every page. If you notice stale data, please let us know.

Understanding Shortage Reports

Report Statuses

ActiveDrug is currently in shortage

AnticipatedShortage expected to occur soon

To Be DiscontinuedDrug will be permanently removed from market

DiscontinuedDrug has been permanently removed from market

ResolvedShortage has ended, drug is available again

Tier 3 Critical Shortages

Tier 3 shortages are the most critical. These affect drugs where:

No therapeutic alternatives exist
The drug is essential for life-threatening conditions
Interruption could cause serious harm to patients

Understanding Alternatives

When viewing a drug, we show two types of potential alternatives:

Same Ingredient: Other products containing the same active ingredient (different manufacturer, strength, or form)
Same Therapeutic Class: Different drugs that may treat the same condition (same ATC classification)

These are suggestions only. Always consult your healthcare provider before switching to an alternative medication.

Privacy

RxWatch does not collect personal health information. We do not require accounts or logins to use the service. Your searches are not tracked or stored.

We use basic analytics to understand how the service is used and improve it, but this data is anonymized and aggregated.

Contact & Feedback

RxWatch is an open-source project. We welcome feedback, bug reports, and contributions.

RxWatch is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. While we strive for accuracy, we cannot guarantee the completeness or timeliness of the data.

For official information, always refer to Drug Shortages Canada and Health Canada.