Robin Finley, a retired high school English teacher, faced the unsettling experience of her lifesaving chemotherapy drug suddenly becoming scarce. Her story highlights the ongoing problem of drug shortages in the U.S., particularly affecting critical medications like carboplatin. While she was able to switch to an alternative drug, cisplatin, the experience left her feeling anxious and uncertain.
Robin Finley was diagnosed with uterine cancer five years ago and underwent repeated treatments after it reoccured. Then, when she was halfway through a chemotherapy regimen last year, one of the two drugs she was taking became scarce.
In October of last year, as many as 10% of cancer patients reported that their care had been affected, with 68% of them citing difficulty finding substitutes and 45% saying they had faced treatment delays, the's Cancer Action Network found in a survey. Others said they had problems related to insurance coverage for alternate therapies.
According to that same report, generic drugs are going through an extended price deflation. In 2022, they accounted for 90.3% of prescriptions and 17.5% of spending. Compare that to 2013, when they made up 86.1% of prescriptions and 28.7% of spending. Generic drugs currently account for more than 90% of prescriptions and have saved the country almost three trillion dollars over the last decade. Here’s how a brand-name drug typically becomes a generic drug.
During the shortages, pharmacists, physicians and other team members focus on how to find drugs in short supply or determine which alternatives will be effective, but that takes time away from patients. And shortages can create disparities in who receives care. Larger health care systems are better able financially to stockpile supplies when they become aware of an impending shortage.
But the chemotherapy ceased its effectiveness against the cancer and as of the beginning of October, she was receiving hospice care. Three of the largest GPOs — Vizient, Premier Inc. and HealthTrust Performance Group— dominate the market and together control at least 80% of the hospital purchasing market, according to thewould use the purchasing power of Medicare and Medicaid to try to curb the shortages.
He is hopeful that an investigation into PBM business practices by the Federal Trade Commission and legislation in the House and Senate will force PBMs to disclose the prices they negotiate and other terms of their contracts. The GPOs negotiate fair deals, create efficiencies in the market, ensure all potential suppliers are considered in bidding and are transparent with its members, the association wrote. They are particularly valuable for smaller or rural hospitals by allowing them access to competitive pricing, it said.in 2021 to bring together groups across the supply chain to predict and help to avert supply disruptions.
To predict and to mitigate drug shortages, PBMs support voluntary data sharing and policies that allow for the immediate substitution of biosimilar drugs — drugs that are highly similar and have no differences in effectiveness or safety.The FDA's drug shortage staff already works with manufacturers to try to alleviate problems.
"Many hospitals and healthcare providers have long-term contracts with drug manufacturers and suppliers," she said.
Drugshortages Cancertreatment Carboplatin Cisplatin Healthcaresystem
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