AHA recommends legislative action to address chronic drug shortages 

In a statement submitted to the House Ways and Means Committee for a hearing Feb. 6 on chronic drug shortages, AHA recommended Congress enact legislation to diversify manufacturing sites and sources for critical pharmaceutical ingredients; support an increase in end-user and supply chain inventories for critical medications; develop a rating system for drug maker quality management processes; identify essential drugs needing more domestic manufacturing capacity; and require drug makers to disclose where their products are made and when demand for essential drugs spikes. 

“When a drug is in shortage, hospitals must find an alternative drug to provide their patients,” AHA wrote. “This process of finding and procuring an alternative drug can result in significant costs to the hospital. An analysis published in 2019 estimated that drug shortages result in at least $359 million annually in additional labor costs to hospitals. This comes on top of the estimated $200 million annually that hospitals and health systems spend paying higher prices to acquire alternative therapies. Due to the increased cost and necessity of treating patients in a timely manner, especially in cases of cancer and other serious illness, it is important to ensure the pharmaceutical supply chain is protected and priority drugs are identified and given special attention so that continual access is ensured for patients.”