Some essential chemotherapy drugs are in short supply for the first time in the United States, according to the October 3 New England Journal of Medicine.
Some essential chemotherapy drugs are in short supply for the first time in the United States, according to the October 3 New England Journal of Medicine. Most are generic drugs-vincristine, methotrexate, leucovorin, cytarabine, doxorubicin, bleomycin, and paclitaxel-that physicians have prescribed for years in childhood leukemia and curable cancers.
The shortage has caused serious concerns about safety, cost, and availability of life-saving treatments. In a survey from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, 25% of clinicians indicated that an error had occurred at their site because of a drug shortage. Many of the errors were attributed to inexperience with alternative products.
The shortage has increased the already escalating cost of cancer care. Brand-name substitutes for generic drugs can add substantially to the cost.
The main cause of the drug shortage is economic. If manufacturers don’t make enough profit, they won’t make generic drugs. If a brand-name drug with a higher profit margin is available, a manufacturer may stop producing its generic equivalent. Contamination and shortages of raw materials likely account for less than 10% of the shortages.
While acknowledging that most cancer centers quadruple-check drugs for accuracy, the authors said “it is only a matter of time” before the death of a patient with cancer is linked to the shortage.
Coalition promotes important acetaminophen dosing reminders
November 18th 2014It may come as a surprise that each year Americans catch approximately 1 billion colds, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that as many as 20% get the flu. This cold and flu season, 7 in 10 patients will reach for an over-the-counter (OTC) medicine to treat their coughs, stuffy noses, and sniffles. It’s an important time of the year to remind patients to double check their medicine labels so they don’t double up on medicines containing acetaminophen.
Support consumer access to specialty medications through value-based insurance design
June 30th 2014The driving force behind consumer cost-sharing provisions for specialty medications is the acquisition cost and not clinical value. This appears to be true for almost all public and private health plans, says a new report from researchers at the University of Michigan Center for Value-Based Insurance Design (V-BID Center) and the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC).
Management of antipsychotic medication polypharmacy
June 13th 2013Within our healthcare-driven society, the increase in the identification and diagnosis of mental illnesses has led to a proportional increase in the prescribing of psychotropic medications. The prevalence of mental illnesses and subsequent treatment approaches may employ monotherapy as first-line treatment, but in many cases the use of combination of therapy can occur, leading to polypharmacy.1 Polypharmacy can be defined in several ways but it generally recognized as the use of multiple medications by one patient and the most common definition is the concurrent use of five more medications. The presence of polyharmacy has the potential to contribute to non-compliance, drug-drug interactions, medication errors, adverse events, or poor quality of life.
Medical innovation improves outcomes
June 12th 2013I have been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer of the pancreas, a disease that’s long been considered not just incurable, but almost impossible to treat-a recalcitrant disease that some practitioners feel has given oncology a bad name. I was told my life would be measured in weeks.