Urge Congress to help fix the drug shortage problem

I am always pleased when I see healthcare leaders speaking up about needed changes. Recently, Derek Raghavan, M.D., Ph.D., President of Levine Cancer Institute wrote an important article that I recommend you read and circulate.

Raghavan explains that the shortage of some intravenous cancer treatment drugs should be seen as nothing less than a travesty, which if left unchecked could lead to avoidable deaths. He gives a personal account of just how serious the situation is and how urgent it is that a solution is found. He writes:

While performing rounds on patients two to three years ago, I recall being warned by an oncology pharmacist that we were running short on a few of our cancer medications and to be prepared to have to make tough choices.

Years later, it has become increasingly clear that this continues to be a major problem, and it seems as though very little has been done to fix it. People are at risk of dying of cancer unnecessarily because of the unavailability of crucial, irreplaceable agents.

A meeting convened in Washington, DC, last fall, with input and leadership from the American Society of Clinical Oncology — a professional organization for physicians who treat cancer — concluded there is an urgent need to do the following to mitigate the drug shortage.

1. Improve rapid communication between the pharmaceutical supply chain and providers, so providers have more advanced notice and can better understand, prepare and manage through shortages.

2. Remove the barriers faced by drug manufacturers and the FDA to minimize the impact of drug shortages.

3. Improve the clarity of the definition of “medically necessary,” the term that prompts advance notifications of drug shortages to the FDA, to ensure the FDA is aware of pending shortages like those the oncology community is experiencing.

How does one prioritize between a patient with curable Hodgkin’s disease who is due to receive one combination of drugs and a patient with curable testicular cancer who is due to receive another combination using similar, dwindling ingredients? The time to sit by, worrying about our patients, concerned about the challenging decisions we need to make to compensate for an industry that is behaving irresponsibly, may be near an end.

I am encouraged by the President’s issuance of an executive order for the FDA to take action to reduce the shortage — it is the first step in a long road to fixing this problem — and hopefully Congress will be successful in adding to the process.

Professional organizations, patient advocacy groups, everyone: Keep this issue in public debate and urge legislators to continue their work!

You can read the entire article by clicking here.

Kester Freeman blogs regularly at Action for Better Healthcare.