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July 24, 2012 (Cleveland)

The Center Takes Steps to Address Pharmaceutical Shortages in Northeast Ohio

A recent survey of The Center’s members reveals that the highly-publicized national pharmaceutical shortages are more than just theoretical and that the challenges associated with this issue are hitting close to home. According to the survey results, the majority of The Center’s members are struggling with pharmaceutical shortages on a regular basis and many hospitals are taking proactive steps to mitigate the situation. The majority of respondents indicated that they regularly monitor the Food and Drug Administration shortage list, share drugs among hospitals in the same system and perform high-risk compounding themselves when necessary.

Northeast Ohio hospital pharmacists and other stakeholders, such as the Academy of Medicine of Cleveland and Northern Ohio, participated in a call led by The Center for Health Affairs in mid-July to follow up on the survey results. The Center’s June policy snapshot, Drug Shortages: Seeking a Remedy to a Growing Problem, which described the scope of the problem and outlined recently-passed drug shortage legislation, was distributed to those on the call. Participants discussed the survey results, shared best practices and determined next steps. The group identified several potential strategies to improve the issue of pharmaceutical shortages in Northeast Ohio.

1. Address restrictions on compounding in Ohio with the Board of Pharmacy, including advocacy to ease restrictions on compounding for non-specific patients (non-anticipatory compounding) and to allow compounded pharmaceuticals to be distributed across hospitals in a system.

2. Discuss ways to better communicate shortages and potential alternative medications. Evaluate whether developing an alert system, similar to those already in place at several of the region’s larger hospitals, might be useful for smaller hospital members.

3. Share information about the pharmaceutical shortage and its impact on Northeast Ohio hospitals with the region’s physicians.

4. Provide more effective communication regarding pharmaceutical shortages with EMS personnel.

For more information on The Center’s efforts to address pharmaceutical shortages in Northeast Ohio, please contact Lisa Anderson at 216.255.3660 or lisa.anderson@chanet.org or Beth Gatlin at 216.255.3665 or beth.gatlin@chanet.org.