Pill look up 10712/11/2023 ![]() They have been a problem in our health care system for several years. MS: Unfortunately, drug shortages have become part of the day-to-day operations in many of our hospital systems, across many specialties. Why are so many cancer drugs and other medications in short supply? There are certainly some trade-offs there, but for other diseases and for other cancers, there may not be a good alternative drug to substitute if one of those critical drugs is in shortage. These are still very effective ways of delivering these drugs, but it will help us preserve those drugs longer. We've sometimes had to make some adjustments in terms of the dosing or the interval of the drugs, or we might switch a patient to a drug that is in the same class and works just as well as the drug that's in shortage, but perhaps it has a higher side effect profile, or it takes longer to administer, so the patient has to spend more time in the hospital to get the treatment. Sometimes that means using practices at the pharmacy level, to preserve every last drop of chemotherapy and make sure that none of it goes wasted. In that latter instance, we have to be responsible in terms of how we use the drug supply that we have. It can mean that an institution or hospital is completely out of a drug, or that we're running low on supplies. Shortage can mean different things for different institutions. These are curative intent treatments, meaning that when we use these treatments, either alone or in combination with other novel therapies, a number of patients have a significant chance of cure. How is a patient’s treatment affected when a drug is in shortage?ĪNF: The drugs in most significant shortage are among the most utilized drugs to treat the vast majority of cancers. We think over 90% of hospital systems across the country now are impacted by this shortage. ![]() right now, we have a shortage of 15 indispensable chemotherapy drugs. However, we're currently facing a significant shortage of these essential medicines to help treat our patients. Chemotherapy drugs are among the most important medicines we use, and they’re one of the most important tools I have as an oncologist to help my patients. Why have you turned your attention to drug shortages?ĪNF: We've made so many treatment advances in the last decade that are extending survival and improving quality of life for patients with cancer. In this Q&A, adapted from the July 7 episode of Public Health On Call, Joshua Sharfstein, MD, speaks with Fader, MD, an associate professor in Gynecology and Obstetrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, and Mariana Socal, MD, PhD '17, a drug supply chain policy researcher and an associate scientist in Health Policy and Management, about the far-reaching impacts of nationwide drug shortages and how they’re affecting patient care. Like many clinicians, gynecological oncologist Amanda Nickles Fader has had to adjust the way she delivers treatment as the mainstays chemotherapy have become scarce. ![]() The shortfall has impacted hundreds of thousands of patients. is facing shortages of more than a dozen cancer drugs, as well as hundreds of other medications, including antibiotics. ![]()
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