Tag Archives: medicine shortage

If you opened the newspaper and saw an article that said drugs were in short supply and thus their street cost is skyrocketing, causing buyers to go deep into the black market and overseas to replenish their stores, what would immediately come to mind?  Pablo Escobar? Willie Nelson needs to re-route his bus?  Plot of Cheech and Chong’s comeback vehicle?

But the fact of the matter is that this is the very true story of the U.S. pharmaceutical market right now, where critical shortages of legal prescription drugs are leading physicians and hospitals to turn away patients and/or delay the administration of life-saving medicines.  According to a recent NY Times article, “So far this year, at least 180 drugs that are crucial for treating childhood leukemia, breast and colon cancer, infections and other diseases have been declared in short supply — a record number.”

By the way, by “other diseases” they don’t mean weird stuff like cat scratch fever, they mean everyday problems such as diabetes, heart disease, and even drugs for surgery and anesthesia.  In other words, we are talking shortages of drugs that could send everyone’s grandma … (read the rest)