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2011 medication shortages set new record at 267
Associated Press ^ | January 3, 2012 | Linda A. Johnson

Posted on 01/04/2012 7:37:55 AM PST by JoeGar

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- The number of new prescription drug shortages in 2011 shot up to 267, well above the prior record and about four times the number of medication shortages in the middle of the last decade.

...

The FDA says the main reason for the shortages is manufacturing deficiencies leading to production shutdowns. Other reasons include companies ending production of some drugs with tiny profit margins, consolidation in the generic drug industry and limited supplies of some ingredients.

(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: drugs; drugshortages; medications; medicationshortages; shortages
Is the government responsible for the shortages due to its pricing constraints?
1 posted on 01/04/2012 7:37:58 AM PST by JoeGar
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To: JoeGar

Our OR is short on narcotics. We are gonna have to start passing out bullets soon & telling the patient just to bite it.


2 posted on 01/04/2012 7:44:37 AM PST by surroundedbyblue (Live the message of Fatima - pray & do penance!)
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To: JoeGar

We’ll see more of this as Obamacare is implemented. Not to mention that we’ll probably see Research and Discovery start to dry up. There will be no new drugs if companies cannot make a profit or are limited on how much they can sell.


3 posted on 01/04/2012 7:44:40 AM PST by formosa (Formosa)
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To: JoeGar
Over regulation and effectively banning those pesky profits will cause shortages every time.
Remember the old Soviet Union where people had to stand in line for hours for basic necessities.
It's coming here. By design.

"He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing."
  - Paul Atreides/Frank Herbert in "Dune".
4 posted on 01/04/2012 7:48:20 AM PST by BitWielder1 (Corporate Profits are better than Government Waste)
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To: JoeGar

Yes.

This is squarely Obama’s fault. The price restrictions due to Medicare reimbursements are making drug production profit-less.

I know for a fact that even the most specialized of hospitals are having trouble stocking drugs... a lot in the cancer-medicine area. When even the hospitals can’t get them, we are in deep do-do.


5 posted on 01/04/2012 7:53:52 AM PST by Reagan69 (I supported Sarah Palin and all I got was a lousy DVD !)
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To: BitWielder1
Over regulation and effectively banning those pesky profits will cause shortages every time.

FDA regs requiring drug companies to go through an approval process in order to start making a particular drug, means that when company A decides to drop making a drug, company B has some expensive hoops to jump through before they can start making the drug. So they don't bother. Plus, I'm guessing that for some drugs whose volume is too low to justify continuous manufacture, the company may have to go through process approval every time they want to do another batch.

6 posted on 01/04/2012 8:05:49 AM PST by PapaBear3625 (During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.)
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To: JoeGar
manufacturing deficiencies

This translates to companies making drugs in 3rd world countries with no quality controls.

7 posted on 01/04/2012 8:18:28 AM PST by aimhigh
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To: surroundedbyblue

Just go out on the street, find your local drug dealer, see how much heroin costs and how much he’s got on hand. /s


8 posted on 01/04/2012 8:26:50 AM PST by Springman (Rest In Peace YaYa123 and Bahbah.)
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To: JoeGar

Partially, but it goes deeper than that...

My wife is an RN and works in a clinic environment. Many of these “shortage” drugs are purchased by the state and federal government and flagged for “Medicaid Only”...

So while you either can’t get the drug or have to pay an exorbitant amount for said drug, it is being offered to welfare recipients free of charge and kept away from you...


9 posted on 01/04/2012 9:30:39 AM PST by trickblue
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To: JoeGar
The FDA says the main reason for the shortages is manufacturing deficiencies leading to production shutdowns.

Just a shot in the dark here but my guess is if a factory hasn't dotted every i and crossed evrey t on the FDA checklist (or hasn't sufficiently greased the inspector's palm) they get shut down.

10 posted on 01/04/2012 9:41:38 AM PST by RightOnTheBorder
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