Hospitals struggle with drug shortages as supply chain issues persist

CBS ^ | 21 October 2021 | MARK STRASSMANN

[blueplum]

America's hospitals are undergoing another emergency: The pandemic has worsened a decade-long shortage of hundreds of needed drugs.

At the University of Virginia's medical center, technicians are filling single-dose drug orders for nearly 700 patients. Assistant pharmacy manager Brian Spoehlhof's job is to find drugs in short supply....

...The FDA currently lists 109 drugs in short supply nationally. The American Medical Association is calling the shortage an "urgent public health crisis" that "threatens patient care and safety."

According to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, three of the top five shortages are drugs used for chemotherapy, heart conditions and antibiotics.

With tocilizumab, UVA's hospital made a tough choice: Save it for chemo patients ...

[blueplum]

Localized, regional or widespread? If locally or regionally true, can they be restocked in time for the winter 'rush'? If not, when will they announce that to their local population? Can localized shortages be minimized by increasing monoclonals? If so, is there a publicity campaign to let the public know where these infusion sites will be? Who, on the executive branch level (regional health, state health and federal), is monitoring all this and doing the forward planning so that Folks aren't in the dark and have the information they need to be proactive?

[PistolPaknMama]

Here's the list of drugs. I have one on the list but says it's resolved.

https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/drugshortages/default.cfm

[pepsionice]

For those who didn’t see this coming....China and India make the bulk of all prescription drugs.

Back in the spring of 2021, China....who happens to make the bulk of raw materials for drugs (which India would use)....starting cutting back on export to India. So the strategy is...strangle India enough that the only drug market manufacturing....will be China.

[Getready]

Been goin’ on for years...all types of reasons(excuses)...from systemic manufacturing errors...contamination of product...retooling factory...on and on...usually no firm resupply date...need fda to approve etc..so much manufacturing is in foreign country..lots of it in India...our unions (wage protectors) , regulators, and government officials have driven costs high(an unintended consequence)..and so the manufacturers flee the country. Business 101. Even though a drug patent may have expired, few will get into the generic market cause costs are so high and return is low. Corporate entities come and go..the whole operation is a real pile of chaotic stinky stuff.

[Gnome1949]

America has become a third-world disaster in so many ways.

We can’t deliver anything needed and can’t control our cities.

We have no border.

We fly foreigners in and put them on government handouts and house them on military bases.

[Chad C. Mulligan]

But there's plenty of fentanyl coming from China. No shortage there!

[BobL]

“America has become a third-world disaster in so many ways.”

Here’s my favorite from the list - Apparently American company has figured out how to mix table salt with water (or no labor union will let them):

“Sodium Chloride 23.4% Injection”

[hardspunned]

There’s was some Trump guy who was going to fix this problem. Unfortunately, medicine for Americans is not that important in the new regime’s plans for the country.

[jmacusa]

This is bs. I work in a hospital in southern NJ and no one in our in house or out patient pharmacy has said anything like this.

It’s fear porn. It’s all part of the ‘’accept lower expectations’’ garbage.