Essential, commonplace drugs are in short supply, including morphine, epinephrine and chemotherapy agents. Those shortages have led to a greater reliance on compounding pharmacies, such as the one blamed for contaminated steroid injections that sickened more than 700 people, of whom 50 died.
In the AHCJ conference session, “From compounders to drug shortages: Covering pharmacies and pharmacists,” pharmacists described the growing challenges to the safety and adequacy of the U.S. drug supply.
Michael R. Cohen, R. Ph., M.S., president of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, gave several reasons for drug shortages, including Medicare payment restrictions that reduce profits and FDA actions that take manufacturing plants off line. Meanwhile, people have been sickened by contaminated drugs from compounding pharmacies for years before the fungal meningitis outbreak of that resulted from the contaminated steroids. Continue reading