Editorial

Anatomy of a Drug Shortage

Deborah K. Mayer

drug costs
CJON 2012, 16(2), 107-108. DOI: 10.1188/12.CJON.107-108

A long time has passed since I last gave chemotherapy, but I have not been immune to the news about the drug shortages in the past few years. Therefore, I wanted to explore what was behind the headlines like "U.S. facing cancer drug shortage: Ariz. doctors rationing supplies; FDA allowing India imports" in the February 22nd Arizona Business News (Alltucker, 2012). You may have been more directly involved in the stories behind these headlines. What dilemmas have you faced related to drug shortages?

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    References

    Alltucker, K. (2012). U. S. facing cancer-drug shortage. Retrieved from http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2012/02/22/20120222us-facing-cancer-drug-shortage.html
    Chabner, B. (2011). Drug shortages—A critical challenge for the generic drug market. New England Journal of Medicine, 365, 2147-2149.
    Gatesman, M., & Smith, T. (2011). The shortage of essential chemotherapy drugs in the United States. New England Journal of Medicine, 365, 1653-1655.
    Mark, S. (2002, December). Challenges posed by drug shortages. Understanding and managing drug shortages. Proceedings from the 37th ASHP Meeting, Atlanta, GA.
    Tyler, L. (2002, December). Drug shortages. Understanding and managing drug shortages. Proceedings from the 37th ASHP Meeting, Atlanta, GA.
    U. S. Food and Drug Administration. (2011). A drug supply chain example. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/DrugShortages/ucm277626.htm
    U. S. Food and Drug Administration. (2012). FDA current drug shortages. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/DrugShortages/ucm050792.htm
    Wagner, N. (2011). Historic drug shortages across the United States continue to get worse. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/09/historic-drug-shortages-across-the-us-continue-to-get-worse/245883/
    WhiteHouse.gov. (2011). Executive Order 13588—Reducing prescription drug shortages. Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/10/31/executive-order-reducing-prescription-drug-shortages