title: Despite Federal Legislation, Shortages Of Drugs Used In Acute Care Settings Remain Persistent And Prolonged.
abstract: Early evidence suggests that provisions of the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act of 2012 are associated with reductions in the total number of new national drug shortages. However, drugs frequently used in acute unscheduled care such as the care delivered in emergency departments may be increasingly affected by shortages. Our estimates, based on reported national drug shortages from 2001 to 2014 collected by the University of Utah's Drug Information Service, show that although the number of new annual shortages has decreased since the act's passage, half of all drug shortages in the study period involved acute care drugs. Shortages affecting acute care drugs became increasingly frequent and prolonged compared with non-acute care drugs (median duration of 242 versus 173 days, respectively). These results suggest that the drug supply for many acutely and critically ill patients in the United States remains vulnerable despite federal efforts.
authors.affiliation: Serene I. Chen is an emergency medicine resident at Highland Hospital, in Oakland, California. She was a student at the Yale School of Medicine when this research was conducted.
authors.forename: Serene I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Erin R. Fox is director of the Drug Information Service at University of Utah Health Care, in Salt Lake City.
authors.forename: Erin R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.affiliation: M. Kennedy Hall is an acting instructor in the Division of Emergency Medicine at the University of Washington, in Seattle. He was a fellow in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine when this research was conducted.
authors.forename: M Kennedy
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.affiliation: Joseph S. Ross is an associate professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine, in New Haven, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Joseph S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.affiliation: Emily M. Bucholz is a resident physician at Boston Children's Hospital, in Massachusetts. She was a student at the Yale School of Medicine when this research was conducted.
authors.forename: Emily M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Bucholz
authors.affiliation: Harlan M. Krumholz is the Harold H. Hines, Jr. Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology and Public Health at the Yale School of Medicine.
authors.forename: Harlan M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Krumholz
authors.affiliation: Arjun K. Venkatesh (arjun.venkatesh@yale.edu) is an assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine.
authors.forename: Arjun K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Venkatesh
mesh_terms: D016638:Critical Illness / Q000628:therapy; D004345:Drug Industry / Q000458:organization & administration; D057915:Drug Substitution / Q000379:methods; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D035082:Federal Government; D006801:Humans; D055553:Prescription Drugs / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States; D014486:United States Food and Drug Administration
chemical_list: D055553:Prescription Drugs
keywords: Access To Care; FDA; Legal/Regulatory Issues; Pharmaceuticals