In a recent survey, Premier Inc. found that a majority of member health systems report that shortages are affecting patient care, often leading to increased costs as well as cancelled or delayed surgical procedures.
Editor's Note: This post originally appeared on Premier Inc.'s website.
CHARLOTTE, N.C.— A new survey of Premier members revealed more than 96 percent of member health systems are experiencing moderate-to-severe shortages of injectable narcotic medications, a problem that has grown over the last two months due to a manufacturing stoppage by the largest producer of these products.
This shortage is having a particularly severe ripple effect in the market because of the complex nature of the drugs involved. Narcotics, including those in shortage, are subject to an allocation system imposed by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), which caps the amount of raw material that can be used by any manufacturer in a given year. Despite the shortage and manufacturing delays that are expected to persist well into the second quarter of 2019, the DEA has not shifted those caps to allow other manufacturers to begin producing shortage injectable narcotic products. Click here to learn more>>
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