title: The impact of drug shortages on patients with cardiovascular disease: causes, consequences, and a call to action.
abstract: Shortages of cardiovascular drugs have become increasingly common, representing an ongoing public health crisis. Given few therapeutic alternatives to many of the drugs in short supply, these shortages also pose a major challenge for cardiovascular care professionals. Although changes in the regulatory environment have led to some improvements in recent years, problems involving manufacturing processes remain the most common underlying cause. Because of the complex nature of drug shortages, sustainable solutions to prevent and mitigate them will require collaboration between regulatory agencies, drug manufacturers, and other key stakeholder groups. In this report, we describe the scope of the cardiovascular drug shortage crisis in the United States, including its underlying causes and the efforts currently being made to address it. Furthermore, we provide specific recommendations for how cardiovascular care professionals can be involved in efforts to limit the impact of drug shortages on patient care as well as policy changes aimed at preventing and mitigating them.
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD USA. Electronic address: breed@rx.umaryland.edu.
authors.forename: Brent N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Reed
authors.affiliation: University of Utah Health Care, Salt Lake City, UT.
authors.forename: Erin R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.affiliation: American Heart Association, Dallas, TX.
authors.forename: Madeleine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Konig
authors.affiliation: Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA; Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA; Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CA; University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, CA.
authors.forename: Cynthia A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Jackevicius
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado Anschuts Medical Campus, Aurora, CO.
authors.forename: Frederick A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Masoudi
authors.affiliation: Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.
authors.forename: Alejandro A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Rabinstein
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Aurora, CO.
authors.forename: Robert L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Page
mesh_terms: D002317:Cardiovascular Agents / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000592:standards*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D058996:Quality Improvement; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D002317:Cardiovascular Agents