'Frustration and Disbelief' Over Drug Shortages

This transcript has been edited for clarity.

Robert D. Glatter, MD: Drug shortages have the potential to adversely affect health outcomes by leading to delays in treatment regimens or alternative drug therapies. According to a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) report released in October, a staggering 163 drugs made this list. One of the key shortages involves heparin. Other recently identified medications in critical supply include epinephrine; morphine; and intravenous fluids, such as normal saline.

Here to discuss the critical issues underlying current drug shortages, likely causes, and possible solutions is Dr Paul Biddinger, associate professor of emergency medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and chief of the Division of Emergency Preparedness and director of the MGH Center for Disaster Medicine. Welcome back, Dr Biddinger.

Paul Biddinger, MD: Thank you so much.

Glatter: To begin, I want to get your take on the recent shortages that you've been facing at your hospital, specifically the types of medications and what you're doing at MGH to address this critical issue.

Biddinger: We've been facing some significant drug shortages at MGH, and I would say that the two most notable are intravenous heparin and intravenous immunoglobulin(IVIG). Both have been substantial enough that we had to activate our hospital's emergency operations plan.