Cancer patients and oncology clinicians continue to grapple with an ongoing national drug shortage that is now affecting 57 percent of hospital pharmacies, according to an American Society of Health-System Pharmacists poll published Aug. 10.
This is even after the FDA approved additional imports of chemotherapy drugs in early June to increase quantities.
"Pharmacists in hospitals and health systems are working diligently with other clinicians to provide safe and effective care, despite ongoing drug shortages, by finding needed medications, identifying substitutes, and managing changes to treatment plans when required," ASHP CEO Paul Abramowitz, PharmD, said in the news release. "In some cases, there are no alternatives to the affected drugs, which puts patients at risk. This issue requires quick action from Congress to address the underlying causes of shortages and ensure patients have the medications they need."
In the poll, 32 percent of the 1,000 respondents characterized the effects of the ongoing cancer drug shortage as "critical."
Here are three other updates about the ongoing drug shortage you may have missed:
- Three additional cancer drugs entered short supply status as of Aug. 7, including decitabine injections, doxorubicin liposomal injections and methotrexate tablets, according to the FDA.
- Ongoing shortages of two other drugs, carboplatin and cisplatin, have disrupted some clinical trials.
- Around 93 percent of cancer centers in the U.S. reported struggling to navigate shortages of carboplatin in June.