The drug supply chain is global, complex, and more than a little opaque. Here are some resources to help you keep track of the latest shortages and reports.
CIDRAP and RDSP resources
Critical Drug Shortage Dashboard: At a glance, see the latest drug shortage numbers in the United States as well as how many of RDSP's 156 critical acute drugs and 40 critical COVID-19 drugs are in shortage.
"COVID-19: The CIDRAP Viewpoint": Part 6 of this report, "Ensuring a Resilient US Drug Supply," looks at drug supply chain vulnerabilities exacerbated by the pandemic, and it offers recommendations to change the system from "fail and fix" to "predict and prevent."
Drug shortage updates
ASHP current drug shortages: The American Society of Health-system Pharmacists defines a drug shortage as anytime a supply issue affects how a pharmacy prepares or dispenses a drug product or administers treatment.
EMA shortages catalogue: The European Medicines Agency lists shortages that are likely to affect more than one European Union member.
FDA drug shortages: The US Food and Drug Administration has more stringent shortage guidelines that are largely manufacturer reported.
Databases
Medsafe New Zealand: Medsafe is the country's public database on medicine and medical devices, offering drug application, product safety, and manufacturing information.
Open FDA: The FDA's public database provides application programming interfaces and direct downloads of raw data of adverse events, drug product labeling, and recall enforcement reports.
United States Pharmacopeia: The USP is published annually by the nonprofit United States Pharmacopeial Convention.
Agency, nonprofit, and government reports
Annual FDA Drug Shortage Reports: Check out PDFs of every annual FDA drug report sent to Congress since the inaugural year, 2013.
Pew Report on Drug Shortages: In this standalone 2017 report, Pew Charitable Trusts looked at the relationship between US market forces and sterile injectable pharmaceutical products.
US Government Accountability Office Reports: Drug shortage topics include controlled substance management, FDA efficacy, and application reviews.
Other resources
Institute for Safe Medication Practices: The ISMP is the world's foremost nonprofit organization educating the healthcare community and consumers about safe medication practices.
PRIME Institute: This independent and global research, education, and consulting organization is led by Stephen Schondelmeyer, PharmD, PhD, who is also the co-principal investigator of RDSP.
