Pharmacists Preventing Drug Shortages

Nationwide, we are in a drug shortage crisis and patients have been impacted. Many patients are not able to receive the right medications and some surgeries have been delayed due to shortages. Currently, 213 medications are in scarce supply in the United States, and most are sterile injectables (i.e. cancer treatments, anesthetics, antibiotics, “crash cart” drugs).

At the Cleveland Clinic, pharmacists proactively monitor medications to ensure they have the right amount of medications needed at all times.

Pharmacists at the Clinic, UH and other area medical centers devote a large portion of each day tracking the FDA’s shortage list and keeping doctors apprised of scarce drugs as they map out treatment plans for patients.

“When we’re aware of a shortage, we look at whether we use the drug, how much we have in inventory and when the shortage is expected to be over,” Leonard said.

Pharmacists look at conservation as well. Surgeons, for example, may routinely discard portions of a medication used in the operating room if the sterile vial from the manufacturer contains a larger dose than needed. Pharmacists can stretch the medication on hand by going into the clean room and repackaging drugs into smaller doses, she said.

In some instances, pharmacists mix a needed drug if they can get the raw components. “It’s going back to what we went to pharmacy school for. We don’t like to do this unless we have to, though,” Leonard said.

In addition, St. Francis Hospital & Health Services, in Maryville, Montana, issued a release last week stating the impact the drug shortage has had on its pharmacy operations. According to the article, “St. Francis’ response to the shortages has included identification by health-care professionals of other treatments. The pharmacy department works to inform practitioners of shortages and seeks to ensure the “safe and effective use of therapeutic alternatives.”

One of our customers, the University of Virginia Health (UVA) System, deployed automation technology to closely manage its inventory. With automation technology, the medication dispensing system is driven by the barcodes found on each and every medication. This process begins by importing the daily delivery of medications from the distributor into the perpetual inventory software, and allowing the central pharmacy to keep a closer track of its inventory to ensure the right medications are available.

Although it’s difficult to predict or prepare for every drug shortage, careful planning from pharmacists can prevent consequent problems from turning into a crisis. Working with the medical team, pharmacist can find alternatives to ensure patients are still receiving the right treatment. It’s great to see health systems work around the drug shortage crisis and continue to provide patients with high quality care.

Is your hospital pharmacy experiencing a drug shortage? How is your health system dealing with the shortage? Are you using alternative treatments or are you compounding your own medications?

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