The reality of hospital drug shortages

To understand  just how problematic the current hospital drug shortage is, all you need to do is take a look at how it is impacting patients. Take for example the situation of one woman in New York.  She had been doing fairly well on her chemo drug Doxil, only to return to her doctor and learn that the office had no more Doxil to offer her. Now she experiences severe nausea since being switched to another chemotherapy drug and her quality of care has declined.

According to one report:

Nearly all hospitals in an A.H.A. survey in June reported that they had struggled with one or more drug shortages in the previous six months, and nearly half had experienced shortages of more than 20 drugs. Three out of four hospitals reported rationing or restricting drugs that were in short supply.

The scarcity drives up healthcare costs as hospitals turn to more expensive substitutes and must spend time and money teaching staff how to use unfamiliar drugs. The risk of medical errors and complications also increases, experts say; many procedures have been delayed or canceled.

The Preserving Access to Life-Saving Medications Act would give the FDA the ability to require early notification from pharmaceutical companies when a factor arises that may result in a drug shortage. These factors may include changes made to raw material supplies, adjustments to manufacturer production capabilities, and business decisions such as changes in output. We each need to contact our representatives in Washington and push for this legislation to be given the support it needs to pass. It really is so critical that we voice our concerns about this shortage that is one of the worst some in healthcare have experienced in recent years. Patients are counting on us not to stand on the sidelines.

Kester Freeman blogs regularly at Action for Better Healthcare.