Record drug shortages across the United States are delaying potentially lifesaving treatments for thousands of patients around the country.
Congress and the White House are scrambling to address a shortfall in prescription drugs — everything from painkillers to cancer treatments.
“Hospitals all across the country, on a regular basis –sometimes weekly — have to review which drugs are in short supply or not available that week.” Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) said in an interview with MSNBC.
The shortage is being most acutely felt in the generic drug market, which accounts for nearly 90% of U.S. prescriptions. The exact number of drugs being affected depends on who you ask — according to a Senate report at the end of last year, the U.S. reached a peak level of 295 active drug shortages, although as of March, the FDA claims there are 130. The American Society of Health reports 301 drug shortages as of the first quarter of 2023.
According to the FDA, the average drug shortage lasts for about 18 months, but some shortages have stretched on for over 15 years.
Some of the medicines that have been in short supply include Adderall, Tylenol, various antibiotics including amoxicillin, saline mixtures used in IVs, and almost two dozen kinds of anti-cancer drugs.
That last group is especially troubling because, unlike some other drugs in short supply, patients don’t have a lot of alternate options for treatment. Chemotherapies for breast cancers, ovarian cancers, lung cancers, bladder cancers, and some forms of leukemia have been delayed or disrupted, sometimes with fatal consequences.
Hellbound and Down 