Health Affairs September 13, 2023
The assured, consistent availability of pharmaceuticals is a cornerstone for patient wellbeing, effective treatment, and equal access to needed medical care. Pharmaceutical supply disruptions compromise medical care and may place patients’ health and even their lives at risk through treatment delays, rationing, increased likelihood of medication errors, and the substitution of possibly inferior alternatives.
Yet, pharmaceutical supply chains in the United States (US) are vulnerable to disruptions. Shortages in some pharmaceuticals have disrupted medical care delivery for decades, with no sign of abatement. In 2023 alone, a tornado ripped through a North Carolina facility that produces a sizable share of several dozen sterile injectable drugs used in US hospitals; quality assurance issues led to the suspension of production in an...
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