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Crain's Cover Story Highlights the Region's Efforts to Ease the Drug Shortage

Recent media attention in Crain's Cleveland Business, which details the drug shortage and Northeast Ohio hospitals' resulting challenges, points to a growing awareness of the problem within the community. The article, which begins by describing the problem and the reasons behind it, also discusses local efforts underway aiming to alleviate the drug shortage, including recent activity by The Center for Health Affairs.

In June, The Center distributed a survey to its members to assess the severity of the drug shortage and verified that Northeast Ohio hospitals face significant challenges as a result of it. In response, The Center formed a drug shortage task force composed of representatives from member hospitals and other stakeholder groups such as the Academy of Medicine of Cleveland to look for ways to address the problem. It was the activity of the advocacy subcommittee of this task force that caught the attention of Crain's Cleveland Business.

"Locally, The Center for Health Affairs, an advocacy group for Northeast Ohio hospitals, has decided to step up its lobbying efforts at the state level after surveying its member hospitals to gauge the breadth of the problem.

"'The hospitals basically validated that they felt the shortage was somewhat severe,' said Lisa Anderson, a registered nurse and vice president of member services. 'Years ago it was sporadic. Now it's more of a chronic problem.'

"The group is looking to ease restrictions on drug compounding - the method by which drugs are concocted from raw materials at hospitals' in-house pharmacies. At present, the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy permits hospitals to compound drugs on a patient-by-patient basis, rather than stockpiling compounded drugs in anticipation of need. State regulations also limit the transfer of compounded drugs between a health system's member hospitals.

"The Center for Health Affairs also plans to lobby state lawmakers in support of legislation that would forbid pharmacies from selling drugs in short supply to wholesalers, who in turn resell them to hospitals at a high markup."

In addition to The Center's activities, the article discussed other recent efforts to ease the drug shortage, including a lobbying effort in Congress led by the Cleveland Clinic this summer to allow larger health systems to repackage certain drugs into smaller doses and share them among hospitals within their system.

Given the complicated nature of the pharmaceutical shortage there is no easy or quick solution. However, increasing public awareness and working together to address restrictive regulations are certainly steps in the right direction.

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