ASHP has been working to help practitioners and patients deal with drug shortages for over a decade. Since ASHP’s successful advocacy effort to get the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act of 2012 [PDF] passed, ASHP members and staff continue to work with the FDA, House and Senate committees, the Government Accountability Office, and other stakeholders on implementation of the Act and to explore causes and solutions for drug shortages. In addition, ASHP is continuing to collect information on the status and impact of drug shortages through several planned surveys with partner healthcare organizations and universities. Results of these surveys will be used to keep the issue front and center with policy makers and other stakeholders. ASHP continues to maintain the Drug Shortages Resource Center and works closely with the FDA to make timely, comprehensive, and useful information available to practitioners and patients. ASHP recently offered several educational sessions at its Midyear Clinical Meeting that addressed drug shortages, and will continue to create and offer educational content in a variety of formats to help healthcare practitioners minimize the effects of drug shortages on patient care.
