Critical drug shortage a threat to national security, congressional report finds

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To Patrick Riley

March 25, 2023 | 10:42 PM

Shortages of critical medicines such as pediatric drugs, antibiotics and ADHD drugs could pose a threat to national security, according to a new congressional committee report.

Drug shortages surged nearly 30% from 2021 to 2022, according to a report released Wednesday by Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.

The shortage peaked at the end of last year, with 295 medicines in short supply, but the shortage is on the rise, the report said.

“These deficiencies have cascading effects on patient care, causing treatment delays, increasing the risk of medication errors, and requiring the use of less effective alternative treatments,” the report said. “Hospitals are also experiencing increased costs, medication waste, and limited staffing capacity to address and correct shortages.”

Sources of the shortage, according to the report, include economic factors, supply chain problems, and “the continued over-reliance of the United States on foreign and geographically concentrated sources of pharmaceuticals and their raw materials.” increase.

“Taken together, these underlying causes not only raise serious concerns about providing adequate care to patients, but also represent serious national security risks,” said a committee member. Chief Gary Peters, D-Mich, said Wednesday while presenting the report’s findings. reported by NBC.

Neither the federal government nor the pharmaceutical industry have access to the entire supply chain, from raw materials to ready-to-use medicines for sale and control by healthcare providers.

While an average drug shortage typically lasts about 18 months, the report found 15 critical drug shortages in the past decade, most of them injectables.

Almost a third of these medicines in short supply are antibiotics.

Peters said that the United States’ over-reliance on foreign suppliers, particularly those from China, “remains an unacceptable national security risk.”

As a result of shortages, patients are forced to delay treatment or seek alternatives.

According to NBC, Peters said the FDA cannot accurately predict drug shortages because the federal government does not monitor the supply chain and the limited data exchanged between the government and the pharmaceutical industry. I’m here.

In its report, the commission called on Congress to require the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services to assess their supply chains for risks of drug shortages that could affect national security. recommended.