News: Hospital drug shortages near all-time decade high, report says

A recent study from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) conducted between June 23 and July 14 and including 1,123 participants found that there were 309 active, ongoing drug shortages. Drug shortages are about to near an all-time decade high, HealthLeaders reported.

According to the study, 88% of those participants worked in a hospital or a health system, 24% of whom were in a facility with less than 200 beds, 36% were in a facility with 200-499 beds, and 41% were in a facility with greater than or equal to 500 beds. Nearly all (93%) of the participants surveyed were pharmacists.

Here are some other key findings from the report:

• Over 99% of respondents reported that they experienced drug shortages
• Most respondents categorized the current state of drug shortages as either critically impactful (32%) or moderately impactful (63%)
• More than half of respondents (57%) said shortages of antineoplastic (chemotherapy) drugs were critically impactful
• 87% of respondents who are involved with purchasing decision rated manufacturer and product quality as very important
• 59% of respondents would preferably buy products from manufacturers that meet a predefined quality standard—potentially addressing one of the major root causes of drug shortages

These shortages are not without cost, of course. According to a 2019 Vizient analysis, the annual labor cost of drug shortages to United States hospitals is approximately $359 million.

Michael Ganio, PharmD, MS, and senior director pharmacy practice and quality at ASHP, told HealthLeaders about the significance of this $359 million figure in terms of baseline spending for the health system:

"We know from a 2019 report that was conducted by one of the group purchasing organizations that there was an estimated $359 million in annual healthcare labor expenses in managing drug shortages,” Ganio said. “The new survey results do not give an actual dollar amount, but we wanted to get percentages of how much more pharmacies are spending on personnel and their drug budgets. What we found was that there is between a 5% to 20% increase in baseline spending for personnel and drug budgets."

Without substantial changes to the root causes of drug shortages—like, for example, the lack of market recognition for mature quality systems—the drug shortage forecast for the remainder of 2023 into 2024 is, according to Ganio, “pessimistic”:

"The reality is that there are multiple factors that contribute to shortages. A good case in point is the tornado that damaged a Pfizer facility in North Carolina. We are still waiting to see the impact from [sic] that event. Pfizer has released some information about what we might expect, but so far there is no definitive measure of how impactful that event will be,” Ganio said. “However, if we follow the current trends, I expect things will get worse before they get better."

Editor’s note: To read the HealthLeaders coverage and Ganio commentary, click here. To read the Vizient report, click here. To read the ASHP report, click here.