Drug scarcities are creating problems for hospitals. There has been an unusually high number of shortages of critical medications over the last few years. Many of the missing medicines are used in emergency departments, operating suites, chemotherapy infusion rooms and ICUs.
These shortages are interfering with proper patient treatment. For example, certain anesthetic agents are harder to come by. Finding an alternative can delay or complicate surgery for some patients. Several medications for attention deficit disorder are also in short supply.
Perhaps most worrisome of all is the growing scarcity of cancer chemotherapy drugs. Some hospitals have had to delay treatment because they can’t get their hands on these critical medications.
Most of the shortages are for generic injectables. Many are difficult to manufacture and have a relatively low profit margin. If a manufacturer decides to get out of the business, there may not be another company willing to pick up the slack and make the medicine. This leaves physicians, pharmacists and patients in the lurch. Since the FDA cannot force any company to make medicine, the shortages are likely to continue.
It is time for patients, physicians and pharmacists to ban together and insist on some sort of accountability from drug companies. They cannot just let crucial medicines disappear from the marketplace because they don’t return enough return on investment. It would be unacceptable if you or a loved one had to delay surgery because an essential medicine were unavailable.
