Drug Shortages Increasing at 'Alarming Rate,' Says AHA

An American Hospital Association survey of 820 hospitals across the nation found that almost all of them reported a drug shortage in the last six months, and nearly half of them reported 21 or more drug shortages. 

That growing shortfall has prompted some patients to take less-effective drugs or delay treatment because of drug shortages, the survey showed.

"The number of drugs in short supply is increasing at an alarming rate and hospitals are working diligently to reduce the impact to the patients they care for," AHA President and CEO Rich Umbdenstock said in a statement Tuesday that came with the survey's release. "Clinicians need more notice about drug shortages so they have time to act to ensure that patient care is not disrupted."

Earlier this year Premier Inc., a hospital purchasing alliance, reported that the near-crisis shortage of drugs had reached a 10-year high. The lack of chemotherapy, sedation, and pain relief medications endangers patient safety and costs hospitals more than $200 million annually for higher priced substitutes, a Premier survey found.

• Hospitals report that they have delayed treatment (82%) and more than half were not always able to provide the patient with the recommended treatment
• Patients got a less-effective drug (69%)
• Hospitals experienced drug shortages across all treatment categories
• Most hospitals rarely or never receive advance notification of drug shortages (77%) or are informed about the cause of the shortage (67%)
• The vast majority of all hospitals reported increased drug costs as a result of drug shortages
• Most hospitals are purchasing more expensive alternative drugs from other sources

The AHA made public the results of its survey at a Capitol Hill press conference that also endorsed bipartisan legislation to address the drug shortages. U.S. Reps. Tom Rooney (R-FL) and Diana DeGette (D-CO) are cosponsors of the "Preserving Access to Life-Saving Medications Act," which they said will improve patient safety by reducing shortages of life-saving drugs.

The bill would expand existing law to combat drug shortages by:

• Requiring manufacturers of all prescription drugs, including biologics, to notify the FDA of any discontinuance or interruption in the production of a drug at least six months in advance;
• Requiring manufacturers to notify the FDA as soon as possible in the event of an unplanned discontinuance or interruption;
• Instructing FDA to publish these notifications and any drug shortage on its website, and work to distribute this information to appropriate healthcare providers and patient organizations; and,
• Directing a GAO study to examine the possible causes of drug shortages, including manufacturing problems, breakdown in supply chains and delivery systems, and restrictive regulatory requirements.

The AHA, American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and Institute for Safe Medication Practices have endorsed the bill.