BACKGROUND Drug shortages are currently on the rise. In-depth investigation of the problem is necessary, however, a variety of definitions for 'drug shortages' are formulated in legislations, by different organizations, authorities, and other initiatives. For international comparison, the underlying definition for drug shortages is important to allow appropriate interpretation of national datab...

BACKGROUND Drug shortages are a global problem. While extensively studied in the United States, numbers about drug shortages in European countries are scarce. This study aims to collect and present data about drug shortages in European countries. METHODS A reporting template for the collection of data about drug shortages was designed based on a literature search. Countries offering a reporti...

BACKGROUND Drug shortages have become all too common and affect all aspects of the health care delivery system. The increased number of drug shortages has had a negative impact on patient care as well as costly financial implications. OBJECTIVES This article identifies the current problems and negative outcomes drug shortages have caused and provides a framework for how to best prepare for an...

Shortages of essential drugs, including critical chemotherapy drugs, have become commonplace. Drug shortages cost significant time and financial resources, lead to adverse patient outcomes, delay clinical trials, and pose significant ethical challenges. Pediatric oncology is particularly susceptible to drug shortages, presenting an opportunity to examine these ethical issues and provide recomme...

Shortages of pharmaceutical drugs pose a serious and growing threat to public health. Although the number of drugs in shortage in the United States in any given year is very small, the number of prescription drug shortages in the country nearly tripled between 2005 and 2010. Drug shortages are becoming more severe as well as more frequent. The affected medicines include cancer treatments, anest...

Drug shortages are a growing problem in developed countries. To some extent they are the result of technical and organisational failures, but to view drug shortages simply as technical and economic phenomena is to miss the fact that they are also ethical and political issues. This observation is important because it highlights both the moral and political imperative to respond to drug shortages...

Eggertson highlighted the problem of drug shortages in Canada and described initiatives of the Canadian Pharmacists Association, hospital pharmacists, and drug manufacturers to address the problem. Many stakeholders have underscored the importance of the drug shortage problem and its risks, but few quantitative data have been published. 3,4 A few regulatory agencies (e.g., the US Food and Drug ...