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Credit: Rhoda Baer
Drug shortages remain a serious problem for patient safety, according to a small survey of US pharmacy directors.
Of the nearly 200 directors, 49% said patients received suboptimal treatment as a result of drug shortages.
Fifty-five percent of respondents reported medication errors resulting from shortages. And 45% reported adverse events due to drug shortages, including a small number of disabling events and deaths.
These results appear in the Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy.
“Drug shortages are the first thing I think about when I get up in the morning, and it is the last thing on my mind when I go to bed at night,” said study author Gary Fennessy, of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare in Chicago, Illinois.
“This is not a problem that is going to go away on its own. Healthcare leaders must not lose sight of it as a major contributor to patient harm or consider its adverse effects inevitable.”
With this in mind, Fennessy and his colleagues sent an electronic survey on drug shortages to 1516 directors of pharmacy.
The survey asked respondents to include information on patient demographics, patient complaints, adverse events, medication errors, patient outcomes, and institutional costs related to drug shortages.
Only 193 pharmacy directors responded. The majority were from acute care institutions serving less than 100 patients. The locations were divided evenly among suburban, urban, and rural institutions.
The medications most commonly reported to be in short supply were analgesics/anesthetics (n=176, 92%), anti-emetics (n=171, 89%), and electrolytes/total parenteral nutrition (n=162, 84%).
Respondents said drug shortages contributed to a variety of issues, including medication errors (such as giving the wrong dose, the wrong drug, or the wrong frequency).
Fifty-three percent of respondents reported 1 to 10 medication errors resulting from drug shortages. And 2% reported more than 30 medication errors.
Eighty-five percent of respondents said patients had to use alternative medications due to drug shortages, 71% said patients’ experienced delays in treatment, and 49% said patients received suboptimal treatment.
Thirty-three percent of respondents said drug shortages resulted in an increased stay in the hospital, 16% said drug shortages caused treatment failure, and 12% said shortages caused hospital readmission.
Forty-one percent of respondents reported 1 to 5 possible or probable adverse events related to drug shortages, and 3% reported more than 15 adverse events.
One percent of respondents reported 1 to 5 patient deaths resulting from drug shortages, 2% reported a disabling adverse event in 1 to 5 patients, and 19% reported adverse events requiring intervention in 1 to 5 patients.
Fifty respondents provided numbers on their estimated costs resulting from drug shortages. And 73% of these individuals calculated costs greater than $100,000.
Thirty-eight percent of respondents said their organization had received at least 1 patient complaint related to drug shortages. And of those respondents reporting the actual number of patient complaints, 18% reported more than 10 complaints.
“This survey is the first that we are aware of to describe the effects that drug shortages have on patient complaints,” said study author Despina Kotis, PharmD, also of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare.
“It clearly shows that patients are aware these shortages are happening, and they are upset that their care is being adversely affected by them.” 
Credit: Rhoda Baer
Drug shortages remain a serious problem for patient safety, according to a small survey of US pharmacy directors.
Of the nearly 200 directors, 49% said patients received suboptimal treatment as a result of drug shortages.
Fifty-five percent of respondents reported medication errors resulting from shortages. And 45% reported adverse events due to drug shortages, including a small number of disabling events and deaths.
These results appear in the Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy.
“Drug shortages are the first thing I think about when I get up in the morning, and it is the last thing on my mind when I go to bed at night,” said study author Gary Fennessy, of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare in Chicago, Illinois.
“This is not a problem that is going to go away on its own. Healthcare leaders must not lose sight of it as a major contributor to patient harm or consider its adverse effects inevitable.”
With this in mind, Fennessy and his colleagues sent an electronic survey on drug shortages to 1516 directors of pharmacy.
The survey asked respondents to include information on patient demographics, patient complaints, adverse events, medication errors, patient outcomes, and institutional costs related to drug shortages.
Only 193 pharmacy directors responded. The majority were from acute care institutions serving less than 100 patients. The locations were divided evenly among suburban, urban, and rural institutions.
The medications most commonly reported to be in short supply were analgesics/anesthetics (n=176, 92%), anti-emetics (n=171, 89%), and electrolytes/total parenteral nutrition (n=162, 84%).
Respondents said drug shortages contributed to a variety of issues, including medication errors (such as giving the wrong dose, the wrong drug, or the wrong frequency).
Fifty-three percent of respondents reported 1 to 10 medication errors resulting from drug shortages. And 2% reported more than 30 medication errors.
Eighty-five percent of respondents said patients had to use alternative medications due to drug shortages, 71% said patients’ experienced delays in treatment, and 49% said patients received suboptimal treatment.
Thirty-three percent of respondents said drug shortages resulted in an increased stay in the hospital, 16% said drug shortages caused treatment failure, and 12% said shortages caused hospital readmission.
Forty-one percent of respondents reported 1 to 5 possible or probable adverse events related to drug shortages, and 3% reported more than 15 adverse events.
One percent of respondents reported 1 to 5 patient deaths resulting from drug shortages, 2% reported a disabling adverse event in 1 to 5 patients, and 19% reported adverse events requiring intervention in 1 to 5 patients.
Fifty respondents provided numbers on their estimated costs resulting from drug shortages. And 73% of these individuals calculated costs greater than $100,000.
Thirty-eight percent of respondents said their organization had received at least 1 patient complaint related to drug shortages. And of those respondents reporting the actual number of patient complaints, 18% reported more than 10 complaints.
“This survey is the first that we are aware of to describe the effects that drug shortages have on patient complaints,” said study author Despina Kotis, PharmD, also of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare.
“It clearly shows that patients are aware these shortages are happening, and they are upset that their care is being adversely affected by them.”
Credit: Rhoda Baer
Drug shortages remain a serious problem for patient safety, according to a small survey of US pharmacy directors.
Of the nearly 200 directors, 49% said patients received suboptimal treatment as a result of drug shortages.
Fifty-five percent of respondents reported medication errors resulting from shortages. And 45% reported adverse events due to drug shortages, including a small number of disabling events and deaths.
These results appear in the Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy.
“Drug shortages are the first thing I think about when I get up in the morning, and it is the last thing on my mind when I go to bed at night,” said study author Gary Fennessy, of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare in Chicago, Illinois.
“This is not a problem that is going to go away on its own. Healthcare leaders must not lose sight of it as a major contributor to patient harm or consider its adverse effects inevitable.”
With this in mind, Fennessy and his colleagues sent an electronic survey on drug shortages to 1516 directors of pharmacy.
The survey asked respondents to include information on patient demographics, patient complaints, adverse events, medication errors, patient outcomes, and institutional costs related to drug shortages.
Only 193 pharmacy directors responded. The majority were from acute care institutions serving less than 100 patients. The locations were divided evenly among suburban, urban, and rural institutions.
The medications most commonly reported to be in short supply were analgesics/anesthetics (n=176, 92%), anti-emetics (n=171, 89%), and electrolytes/total parenteral nutrition (n=162, 84%).
Respondents said drug shortages contributed to a variety of issues, including medication errors (such as giving the wrong dose, the wrong drug, or the wrong frequency).
Fifty-three percent of respondents reported 1 to 10 medication errors resulting from drug shortages. And 2% reported more than 30 medication errors.
Eighty-five percent of respondents said patients had to use alternative medications due to drug shortages, 71% said patients’ experienced delays in treatment, and 49% said patients received suboptimal treatment.
Thirty-three percent of respondents said drug shortages resulted in an increased stay in the hospital, 16% said drug shortages caused treatment failure, and 12% said shortages caused hospital readmission.
Forty-one percent of respondents reported 1 to 5 possible or probable adverse events related to drug shortages, and 3% reported more than 15 adverse events.
One percent of respondents reported 1 to 5 patient deaths resulting from drug shortages, 2% reported a disabling adverse event in 1 to 5 patients, and 19% reported adverse events requiring intervention in 1 to 5 patients.
Fifty respondents provided numbers on their estimated costs resulting from drug shortages. And 73% of these individuals calculated costs greater than $100,000.
Thirty-eight percent of respondents said their organization had received at least 1 patient complaint related to drug shortages. And of those respondents reporting the actual number of patient complaints, 18% reported more than 10 complaints.
“This survey is the first that we are aware of to describe the effects that drug shortages have on patient complaints,” said study author Despina Kotis, PharmD, also of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare.
“It clearly shows that patients are aware these shortages are happening, and they are upset that their care is being adversely affected by them.”