Some cancer drugs are in short supply, putting patients' care at risk. Here's why (2024)

FAQs

How do drug shortages impact patients? ›

Medicines shortages have drastic implications on patients [3, 15, 20]. They are known to contribute towards adverse patient events including treatment delays, clinical complications, and substandard treatment and associated medication errors and adverse drug reactions [21].

Drug Shortages can occur for many reasons, including manufacturing and quality problems, delays, and discontinuations. Manufacturers provide FDA most drug shortage information, and the agency works closely with them to prevent or reduce the impact of shortages.

Nausea and Vomiting. Nerve Problems (Peripheral Neuropathy) Organ-Related Inflammation and Immunotherapy. Pain.

Drug shortages reached a five-year peak at the end of 2022, impacting almost 300 pharmaceutical products including basic treatments such as IV saline and antibiotics, according to a new Senate report.

Health care staffing shortages lead to poor patient outcomes that can include hospital-acquired infections, patient falls and increased chances of death, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

Among medications in short supply are commonly used tablets to treat anxiety including 250mcg Xanax tablets and an injection emulsion containing Diazepam, with generic replacements also in short stock.

Currently, a U.S. shortage of carboplatin and cisplatin exists that will likely last several months and possibly longer. Platinum drug shortages were first reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on February 10, 2023.

Why have these shortages occurred? Manufacturing issues or an unexpected increase in demand led to most of these shortages. These disruptions to supply happen despite pharmaceutical companies doing their best to maintain supply through demand forecasting and stock control.

The hospital develops a master list of drugs that are in shortage and makes it available to pharmacy staff and prescribers, says Manning. New drug shortages, restrictions, and status updates are sent by email each week to pharmacy staff, physicians on the pharmacy and therapeutics committee, and nursing leaders.

Why are pharmacies always understaffed? ›

Many pharmacies have been left short staffed because of pharmacy technicians who've left the industry. They help fill prescriptions while making less pay than pharmacists. In light of that, Walgreens and CVS recently announced they're increasing the pay of all their hourly employees.

Among those in short supply due to an unexpected increase in consumer demand are diazepam, gabapentin and omeprazole. Of the 31 critical shortages, most are injectable steroids, antibiotics and anaesthetic agents which is similar to the shortages seen overseas.

Failed Cancer Clinical Trials: Why Most New Cancer Drugs Fail. Roughly 1 in 50 promising cancer drug candidates makes it to market.

Exposure to some chemicals and hazardous substances can increase the risk of cancer. A few well-known carcinogens are asbestos, nickel, cadmium, radon, vinyl chloride, benzidene, and benzene. These carcinogens may act alone or with another carcinogen to increase your risk.

For Frankel, the issue boils down to “an increased demand and relatively fixed supply in the physician labor market. Training new physicians is a time-consuming and expensive process, and there are only so many medical schools in the U.S., with so many seats,” and which have not kept up with the demand for physicians.

Reason for the Shortage

Accord has methotrexate injection on shortage due to manufacturing delays. Fresenius Kabi has methotrexate injection on back order due to increased demand. Pfizer has methotrexate injection on back order due to increased demand.

Higher acuity levels, increased patient volumes, and continued staffing challenges are key contributors — all of which prompt increased turnover, drive decisions to leave the profession, and pose care quality and safety risks.

The Association of American Medical Colleges projects a national shortage of up to 124,000 physicians by 2033, including shortages of primary care physicians and specialists, such as pathologists, neurologists, radiologists and psychiatrists.

Why are nurses leaving the profession? ›

Another recent report by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing found about 100,000 registered nurses left the profession since 2020. More than 600,000 intend to leave by 2027 due to stress, burnout and retirement.

Drugs with a shorter half-life are linked with higher potential for addiction and dependence because the effects wear off faster. That is one reason why doctors are typically hesitant to prescribe Xanax for long periods of time.

Commonly available street benzos include alprazolam (Xanax), flunitrazepam (Rohypnol), diazepam (Valium), temazepam and phenazepam. Flubromazolam and etizolam are newer benzodiazepine analogues which are chemically very similar to benzodiazepines and can be dangerously high in potency.

Doxorubicin is considered one of the strongest chemotherapy drugs for breast cancer ever invented. It can kill cancer cells at every point in their life cycle, and it's used to treat a wide variety of cancers, not just breast cancer. Doxorubicin is also known as “The Red Devil” because it is a clear bright red color.

About 18% of cancer survivors have survived 20 or more years after diagnosis. 64% of survivors are age 65 or older.

Certain natural substances have antibacterial properties, including garlic, ginger, and honey. While these may be of benefit as part of a balanced diet, they are not a replacement for prescription medication.

Amoxicillin and Augmentin are similar drugs that may help clear many bacterial infections. A doctor may recommend Augmentin if an infection could be antibiotic-resistant or if amoxicillin alone does not work.

Approximately 70% of all medically important antibiotics in the United States are sold for use in animals.

How can we prevent drug shortage? ›

The key to preventing drug shortages might be to find manufacturers of high-quality products and pay them enough for their drugs so that they make a reasonable profit and can invest in their facilities when they need to.

Reason for the Shortage

Major discontinued tramadol tablets. Marlex did not provide a reason for the shortage. Mylan discontinued tramadol tablets in late-2021.

Drug Shortages

They're just part of the job. According to Statista, 66 percent of drug shortages in the U.S. in 2021 had to do with injectable drugs. Most drug shortages are out of your control, so it's best to plan ahead. Focus on the most dispensed medications in your pharmacy, maybe ordering a little extra.

The number of pharmacists employed in the United States dropped about 1 percent from 2020 to 2021. On balance, employers did not raise wages — in fact, median pay fell slightly, even without adjusting for inflation.

CVS, Walmart and Walgreens to reduce pharmacy hours as staffing challenges persist. CVS and Walmart are reducing their pharmacy operating hours across the U.S. to improve employees' work-life balance as the chains continue to struggle with staffing shortages in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It's widely used to treat indigestion and heartburn, and acid reflux. It's also taken to prevent and treat stomach ulcers. Omeprazole is a type of medicine called a proton pump inhibitor (PPI). Proton pumps are enzymes in the lining of your stomach that help it make acid to digest food.

Ask the pharmacist if it's a local or a national shortage

If one location of a chain pharmacy doesn't have the drug, ask them to call other stores, or try calling yourself. Be patient and resourceful. Not only are there shortages of drugs, but there are also shortages of pharmacists.

When patients are unable to adhere to their medications because of high prices, medical spending significantly increases to treat patients' conditions; over time, these complications can lead to worse health outcomes and premature death.

Prescription-drug price increases can lead some patients to not be able to afford critical medicine, causing them to skip doses of their medications or split pills, or force them to abandon treatment altogether.

What factors affect patients response to drugs? ›

Drug response can be impacted by several factors including diet, comorbidities, age, weight, drug–drug interactions, and genetics. Individual genetic variation in key genes involved in the metabolism, transport, or drug target can contribute to risk of adverse events¹⁰⁸ or treatment failure.

The person most impacted by the high cost of some of the pharmaceuticals is the person who pays cash for medications.

ISSUE: Compared with other high-income countries, the United States spends the most per capita on prescription drugs.

Opaque negotiations between PBMs and drug manufacturers—alongside formulary changes—may raise prices and leave employers in the dark about their own pharmacy benefits. Ultimately, manufacturers are responsible for setting the list price of a drug, but lack of transparency over PBM practices creates suspicion.

The increasing complexity of advanced medicines and investment into treatments which do not end in success makes R&D more expensive - a factor that is contributing to the rising cost of prescription drugs.

A Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) study found five factors that affect the cost of healthcare: a growing population, aging seniors, disease prevalence or incidence, medical service utilization, and service price and intensity.

Why are the costs for these life-saving drugs so high? Pharmaceutical price gouging is a large part of the answer. When pharmaceutical companies enjoy market exclusivity, meaning they are the only company producing a drug, they are able to set prices as high as they want due to the lack of competition.