A new report from Avalere Health and the Healthcare Supply
Chain Association (HSCA) called The Vital
Role of Group Purchasing Organizations in Alleviating Drug Shortages in the
United States found that healthcare group purchasing organizations (GPOs)
play a significant role in helping hospitals, purchasing partners and suppliers
alleviate the impact of prescription drug shortages in the United States.
In its report, Avalere found that GPOs are taking a
variety of specific steps to help mitigate the impact of drug shortages,
including:
Tracking
data on drug shortages;
Strategizing
with members when the potential for a supply disruption arises;
Communicating
with manufacturers and distributors when they anticipate a supply problem;
Creating
incentives for drug manufacturers to produce agreed-upon quantities of
certain critical drugs and drugs in short supply.
Avalere also identified specific policy recommendations
for a multi-stakeholder approach to combat drug shortages, including:
Improving
approval processes at the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA);
Refining
early notificationsystems
and public communication;
Implementing
market and operational efficiencies.
The drug shortage report also includes a number of case
studies illustrating the strategies employed by GPOs to expand production
capacity for drugs in short supply and to ensure the timely reporting of
shortages. GPO strategies depicted in the case studies include:
Providing
financial and technical support for alerting the public about drug
shortages;
Encouraging
production of critical drugs through innovative agreements
that provide certainty to manufacturers;
Working
to raise supplier performance quality metrics.
“Drug shortages are a complex problem with no overnight fix,”
said HSCA President Curtis Rooney. “GPOs are committed to continuing to work
with government, industry, hospitals, and all supply chain stakeholders to find
a solution to this public health crisis.”
To read the complete Avalere/HSCA report, The Vital Role of Group Purchasing
Organizations in Alleviating Drug Shortages in the United States, please click here or visit the HSCA website at www.supplychainassociation.org.
For more information about the efforts of GPOs to help mitigate
the impact of drug shortages, please visit www.drugshortage.org.