Healthcare Finance News on Drug Shortages

Healthcare Finance News writer David Weldon recently took a look at the cause and impact of prescription drug shortages on the healthcare system:

America has a major drug problem, but it’s not the one that probably comes immediately to mind. It is a continual and rotating shortage of important drugs needed to treat a variety of legitimate medical conditions impacting patients and the healthcare supply chain.

Weldon spoke to various healthcare stakeholders and participants in the healthcare supply chain, including the American Hospital Association (AHA), the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and HSCA President Curtis Rooney:

There are a lot of different factors for the continued shortages, said Curtis Rooney, president of the Healthcare Supply Chain Association. “There are issues with production, with oversight and enforcement by the FDA, and with reimbursements. Right now it is creating a perfect storm.

Among the reasons cited by PhRMA for the shortages are shifts in clinical practices, wholesaler and pharmacy inventory practices, raw material shortages, manufacturing challenges and individual company decisions to discontinue specific medicines.

For more information about what GPOs are doing to help mitigate the impact of critical prescription drug shortages, click here.