The global medication shortage problem is caused by a combination of factors, including shortage of raw materials, manufacturing difficulties, and industry consolidations, which can affect the supply chain and impact various stakeholders.

The United States is experiencing a severe shortage of medicines and drugs, with over 135 drugs in short supply.

There is a severe shortage of many varieties of medicines, with 15 classes of medications currently in shortage, causing suffering for poor patients and those with chronic diseases.

Taiwan is currently experiencing a shortage of various medications, including specialty prescription drugs, amoxicillin, acetaminophen, and magnesium oxide, with a total of 131 medicines out of stock.

One challenge in the healthcare system is the shortage of nursing staff, which can leave the system vulnerable to pandemics and impact patient care.

Medication shortages affect various types of drugs, including cancer chemotherapy, emergency drugs, antibiotics, antipyretics, and anti-diarrheal medications, with cancer drugs such as cisplatin and carboplatin being specifically impacted.

The supply of pharmaceuticals has been affected by several factors, including the Covid pandemic, war, and economic crises, leading to global drug shortages.

Chemotherapy drugs, including cisplatin and carboplatin, are among the medications affected by the shortage in the US, posing a risk to patients with various types of cancer.

Generic drugs are available as an alternative to brand-name medications in case of supply issues, ensuring continuity of treatment.

Medication shortages extend beyond antibiotics to include pain relievers and potentially other types such as tuberculosis medications and skin infection treatments, as inferred from the broad categories of medications listed as being in short supply.

The global medication shortage problem is caused by a combination of factors, including shortage of raw materials, manufacturing difficulties, and industry consolidations, which can affect the supply chain and impact various stakeholders.

Title:

Content: Ireland has been suffering a paracetamol shortage as cases of Covid-19 and the winter flu in the country soared over the festive and new year period.

The revelation was made by Health Minister Stephen Donnelly after his department received notification of a supply issue from the Health Products Regulatory Authority.

It is understood the shortage impacted some prescription paracetamol products.

Read More:Irish people complain of ‘worst ever’ winter bug sweeping country that feels like Covid but isn’t

Two suppliers affected have stated that resupply will be sometime in January 2023.

However, there are other prescription paracetamol suppliers with some stock available on the shelves.

Paracetamol is one of the medicines used most often in Ireland and especially for the flu, aches and pain.

But Mr Donnelly pointed out that there are multiple forms of the drug with different strengths and brands available from various sources.

He said: "In the event that there are some supply issues for individual medicines, alternative options such as alternative strengths and brands, generic medicines will usually be available to ensure continuity of treatment.

"In some cases where the medicine initially prescribed for the patient is unavailable, patients may be switched to a suitable therapeutic alternative following appropriate consultation with a healthcare professional."

The Health Minister said medicine shortages have been increasingly prevalent worldwide over the past decade. The causes of such shortages are multifactorial including shortage of raw materials, manufacturing difficulties and industry consolidations.

He stated: "Medicine shortages can originate at any point in the supply chain. They can involve and impact many stakeholders in different ways as the supply models and clinical use of therapies can vary across national health systems.

"Management of medicines shortages necessitates a multi-faceted, multi stakeholder response to ensure patient safety , continuity of care and protection of public health.

"Patients or their carers who have any concerns in relation to temporary alternative products provided because of medical shortages are advised to speak with their pharmacist or other healthcare [professionals] involved in their care."

Mr Donnelly was responding to a number of written Dail questions on the shortage of medicines.

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The United States is experiencing a severe shortage of medicines and drugs, with over 135 drugs in short supply.

Title:

Content: International
International News
Dependent on foreign raw materials fluctuate, big pharmaceutical companies chase short-term profit loss production
The shortage of ADHD drugs is just the tip of the iceberg of the current drug shortage in the United States. According to the FDA, more than 135 drugs are in short supply, including chemotherapy drugs for cancer.
A survey released by the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) in early August showed that one-third of the 1,100 hospitals surveyed had no prescription, delayed or reduced prescriptions due to drug shortages to meet the supply window.
Expert analysis, pharmaceutical companies to pursue short-term profit first business model, so that the production of life-saving drugs and demand out of line, drug shortage problem is difficult to improve.
Experts urge pharmaceutical companies to face social responsibility
Rita Numerof, a medical industry consultant, wrote in Forbes magazine that in order to reduce costs, US pharmaceutical companies have long relied on foreign suppliers such as China, India and Italy to import raw materials for the production of drugs, which is prone to fluctuations in supply. They are looking to develop drugs that are more likely to be used for long-term diseases.
Teva, a manufacturer of ADHD drugs and the world ’ s largest generic drug manufacturer, announced earlier that it would reduce the production of some generic drugs and focus on more profitable products. Rumelove warned that if pharmaceutical companies are unwilling to address their social responsibilities and strengthen supply risk management, public trust in the pharmaceutical industry will continue to weaken, and ultimately public health and safety will pay a heavy price.
Focus on the organization to accelerate the use of new generic drugs to increase production incentives
The American Association for Access to Medicines (AAM) released a report last month, saying that because of restrictions on the supply of generic drugs, the supply price of generic drugs is limited, and the return of investment in new drugs is not high. The situation.
(Forbes / DrugTopics)
(Global Hot Talk)
Related Words: Adderall Drug Shortage Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
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There is a severe shortage of many varieties of medicines, with 15 classes of medications currently in shortage, causing suffering for poor patients and those with chronic diseases.

Title:

Content: Crowding citizens in front of the ambulance pharmacy reveals the extent of suffering …
6.
The suffering of poor patients is due to the lack of medicines.
Where the pharmaceutical market has been suffering for several consecutive months from a severe shortage in many varieties.. Which prompted citizens to crowd in front of the ambulance pharmacy in long queues to buy those shortcomings after they disappeared from all pharmacies..
Hustle...
Chaos...
Hundreds of men and women crowded in long queues that extend for several hours.. This is the scene in front of the ambulance pharmacy in the center of the country. People with chronic diseases of sugar, pressure, heart, nerves and colon became their only hope to find essential drugs for them in the pharmacy.. The absence of these drugs does not only expose them to more pain but may expose them to death.. They can not do without them..
The drug shortage crisis.
It is not a new crisis, but it has been repeated many times during the previous term of Minister “Khaled Abdel Ghaffar ”.. Instead of trying to solve the crisis, the government is going against the trend, where the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health Dr.“ Khaled Abdel Ghaffar ” in statements after the government statement to parliament to the need to increase the prices of medicine in Egypt because it is the cheapest in the world and sold abroad by 50 times. According to the data of the Medbelle global platform for health care and funded by the European Fund for Regional Development in 2021, Egypt is ranked ninth in the list of cheapest countries in the world in the sale of medicine, and did not come in the first place as mentioned by the minister
Despite the repeated statements of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Health to resolve the crisis and provide the missing medicines, and despite the government ’ s repeated talk about the localization of the pharmaceutical industry in Egypt, the reality is quite the opposite.
There are a number of terrible complaints about the lack of medicine in public hospitals and pharmacies, including a collective complaint from the patients of the university hospitals in Assiut Governorate of the lack of availability of drugs and the absence of dye injections, which puts their lives at risk. Although the patients filed a complaint to the governor two weeks ago, but to no avail. The long queue of two or three hours to win a box of insulin Maxtard despite the increase in the price from 60 pounds to 93 pounds confirms the extent of suffering experienced by patients. Also, the disappearance of Indoxan injections used in chemotherapy sessions threatens oncology patients, where thousands of patients in oncology institutes and hospitals suffer from delayed chemotherapy sessions for lack and disappearance of Indoxan injection. The right to medicine, but the crisis still exists.
There is also a shortage of many drugs, including blood thinners and clots solvents, drugs for the treatment of cancerous tumors, multiple sclerosis drugs, drugs for the treatment of liver diseases, drugs for stomach ulcers and blood pressure, drugs for sinuses, heart and thyroid diseases, dozens of types of analgesics, antibiotics and vitamins, as well as anesthetics used in anesthesia and solutions in public hospitals. Subsidized children, which was exploited by the mafia of the black market to raise prices to double the original price of milk can up to 500 pounds..
All types of treatments for epilepsy, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, phobias and hyperactivity disease are still unavailable due to the lack of import of raw materials.
Health Insurance Patients
The crisis is not limited to hospitals and pharmacies only, but the branches of health insurance suffer from a large shortage of medicine and also medical supplies, which led to the closure of the operating rooms in the branches of insurance in the province of Beni Suef..
In the health insurance clinics in Cairo and Giza, many of those who frequent these clinics complained that they come from 7 am to reserve their roles in order to dispense their medicines and end up sitting in the pharmacy waiting for the pharmacist who dispenses them some of them, and the rest of their medicines are separated in new prescriptions to be dispensed from the insurance pharmacies, if any. Blood thinners and thrombotic solvents, some pressure medications, multiple sclerosis medications, stomach ulcer and thyroid medications, sugar, antibiotics, vitamins, Parkinson ’ s medications, and hyperactivity protocol.
Many cases complained of the lack of their medicines, which they have been dispensing for years.. And they were dispensed periodically every two months for a year after the approval of the Drug Committee to dispense those medicines, including a special medicine liquidity imported medicines, and patients with diabetes and blood diseases were their complaint that any imported medicine and its price expensive requires the highest approval of a committee in the Council of Ministers..
Although patients have been dispensing the same medication for several years, this complaint is frequent from universal health insurance patients.
Detention of raw materials
Dr. Ali Auf, head of the pharmaceutical division of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce, said that the reason for the worsening of the shortage of medicines is the detention of raw materials in ports, pointing out that there are about 1000 items that are not available.
Exchange rate
Mahmoud Fouad, Executive Director of the Right to Medicine Association, said that the aggravation of the crisis is due to the companies stockpiling medicines in anticipation of higher prices, explaining that the crisis began about two years ago due to the shortage of raw materials as a result of the high exchange rate and the inability of companies to provide dollar materials to import raw materials.
Fouad stressed that there are more than 1000 drugs whose prices rose during the past year by rates ranging from 25% to 60%, pointing out that the increase reached during the current days to 60% for the local and 80% for the importer.
Fouad described the statements of the Minister of Health about the price of Egyptian medicine as being 50 times lower than abroad as shocking, pointing out that there was a successive movement of prices from the Drug Pricing Committee of the Egyptian Drug Authority starting in 2023, which resulted in the movement of about 1,000 varieties.
He explained that Egypt suffered during the last two years from the phenomenon of medicine shortage due to the shortage of imported raw materials as a result of the economic crisis and the fluctuation of the exchange rate … and the crisis affected items considered life-saving.
Fouad stressed that drug sales in Egypt reached about $3 billion a year in 2023 without the sales of the armed forces and the interior and tenders of the Ministry of Health, which means that Egypt is considered the largest market in the region.
Unfair pricing system
He explained that Egypt had been subject to the pricing of medicines for 10 years according to the decision of the Minister of Health under the system of "lower pricing for neighboring countries" and then the pricing was according to the decision 413 of 1991, which is "calculating the cost and profit margin for companies and distribution and then pharmacies" according to the compulsory pricing that began in 1988.
He explained that the pricing is according to the cheapest price in the reference countries identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 36 countries to guide their prices and the minister to take them or not, pointing out that these countries are the major industrial countries and have comprehensive health insurance laws, which Egypt lacks.
Fouad added that this system in pricing is unfair as medicine has become subject to market mechanisms, supply and demand and suspicions of monopoly, the price is controlled by the policy of supply and demand, which makes medicine a commodity sold to those who can, especially since there are more than millions of Egyptian people not participating in the health insurance system, which only 63% of citizens participate.
Fouad pointed out that Egypt has about 17 officially registered medicines, 90% of which are manufactured, 176 companies that own factories, 7 business sector companies, 22 branches of foreign companies and 1,200 commercial companies that do not own a factory.
He stressed that the crisis of medicine shortage and successive rises will make the Egyptian citizen groaning and unable to bear it.
Fouad warned of the danger of the expected increases in drug prices during the coming period.

Taiwan is currently experiencing a shortage of various medications, including specialty prescription drugs, amoxicillin, acetaminophen, and magnesium oxide, with a total of 131 medicines out of stock.

Title:

Content: The Kuomintang group calls on Chen Chien-jen to take over the government's national security crisis
REPORTER WENG Tzu-kun / Taipei Report
The shortage of drugs in the country continues to burn, the Kuomintang Legislative Yuan group today (1) a press conference called on the Tsai government, do not just want to vote all day, more concerned about the people's health rights, if the Minister of Health and Welfare Xue Ruiyuan, the Food and Drug Administration Director Wu Xiumei do not do well, it will be cut off.
The KMT further demanded that the "Drug Deficiency Monitoring Center" be raised to the level of the Executive Yuan, and called on Premier Chen Jianren to take over the management and treat it as a national security level issue.
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The Kuomintang group today opened a "shortage of drugs! shortage of drugs! When?" press conference, the general convenor Zeng Mingzong said that the shortage of drugs is a structural problem, health insurance to slash the price of drugs, so that the shortage of drugs crisis expanded, local pharmaceutical companies are more reluctant to produce low-cost drugs.
And some people complained, ran 10 drug bureaus did not receive drugs, beat the table to scolding, so that the community pharmacist pressure is great.
Zeng Mingzong pointed out that, for example, muscle relaxants reported a shortage of drugs on March 8, 2021, compound antibiotics, anti-fever pain tablets reported a shortage of drugs on June 6, 2022, blood pressure drugs reported a shortage of drugs on August 25, 2022, blood lipid-lowering drugs reported a shortage of drugs on August 26, 2022. In addition to the election, Tsai's government also cares about the health of the nation's people.
Zeng Mingzong said that the Kuomintang group humbly asked the Tsai government, the current lack of eggs, water, and medicine in the country, the people are asking the government what is wrong? Impairment! Failure! Please the government to come up with a specific plan to solve the problem of shortage of drugs, and ensure the basic health rights of 23 million people.
Hsieh Ying-yi, secretary-general, says that recent shortages of amoxicillin, acetaminophen, magnesium oxide, and ibuprofen in primary pharmacies and clinics have revealed that there are 131 medicines out of stock in Taiwan.
She stressed that in order to solve the problem of drug shortage, the community pharmacy has also set up a "mutual aid association" to find drugs in the way of drug exchange.
He bluntly said that this is a serious national security problem, will it make the burden of health care more heavy?
For a long time, the total amount of health insurance system has been driving down drug prices, but international pharmaceutical companies are facing a global shortage of goods, and will not give priority to imports to Taiwan.
When the National Health Insurance Administration wants to solve the unreasonable drug price difference, does it also solve the problem of drug prices that do not meet the cost?
Xie Yifeng also pointed out that on February 11, Xue Ruiyuan urgently convened a meeting on shortage of drugs, and resolved to persuade drug manufacturers to increase production capacity. If it is not possible to increase production capacity, then strengthen the allocation of hospitals and clinics to pharmacies to solve the problem of shortage of drugs.
How does the Ministry of Health and Welfare assist domestic pharmaceutical companies in obtaining raw materials and mass-producing pharmaceutical products?
Not at all.
Shouldn ’ t the Ministry of Health and Welfare convene meetings across ministries, industries, and pharmaceuticals to coordinate and solve problems?
Hsieh Yi-hung lambasted that after the meeting of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, nothing had been done, and such a meeting would not be held.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare will increase the burden of health insurance to 120 million yuan on April 1, which is expected to affect 1.17 million people.
Please ask Chen Chien-jen and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, in the special budget after the epidemic, to allocate 20 billion yuan for health insurance, why do you need to increase part of the burden?
The Ministry of Health and Welfare should first solve the problem of lack of medicines, and do not want to spend money from the pockets of the people.
On March 29, 2019, Wu Xiumei, who is responsible for managing the national drug administration department, held a meeting on “Drug Shortage ”. The results of the expert meeting on the evaluation of the operation and follow-up mechanism of the meeting were only based on the meeting and the meeting was postponed, and the decisions made after the meeting were not implemented.
"Taiwan's lack of medicine is a problem of management." Lai Shibao pointed out that the Ministry of Health and Welfare has constantly justified itself with problems such as rising raw materials and the Russian-Ukrainian war, but the whole world is affected, and Taiwan alone has a shortage of medicine.
In 1999, the US FDA established a “Drug Deficiency Monitoring Center ”, which stipulates that any drug that is less than 6 months in stock must be monitored and taken countermeasures.
Lai Shih-pao points out that the pharmaceutical and medical sectors in Taiwan have long called on the government to do the same.
Lai Shih-pao also suggested that Chen Chien-jen, the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) plans to slash the health insurance drug budget by NT $8.1 billion. Please ask the so-called warm and tenacious cabinet to start caring for humanity and solve the problem of shortage of drugs as soon as possible.
In 2016, Tsai Ying-ying told pharmacists at the All-Union Congress of Pharmacists that it was necessary to make medicines available to the people and replace them with social medicines in 2018. The result was still a shortage of drugs.
Yang Qiong said that magnesium oxide mainly treats gastric and esophageal reflux and constipation, is a common chronic prescription drug. Patients need to use drugs every day. Does the government know? In addition, the first-line commonly used antibiotics Ammonicillin and acetaminophen painkillers are lacking, which increases the risk of physical collapse of first-line medical care.
The government does not know what the problem is, and even the drugs have to go back to the original "drug-for-drugs" era, the "drug-for-drugs monitoring center" must be raised to the level of the Executive Yuan, immediately inventory 131 drug categories, immediately replenish, strengthen the monitoring mechanism, so that the people really have drugs available.
Dr. Shen Caiying, spokesman of the Taiwan Pharmaceutical Marketing and Management Association, said with emotion that Tsai Ing-wen had said that the society has drugs available, and the people will use drugs, which of course is also the responsibility of pharmacists.
During the epidemic, the Ministry of Health and Welfare relied heavily on community pharmacies to issue masks and rapid screening to take on the frontline public health mission, but the Ministry of Health and Welfare seemed indifferent to the serious problem of drug shortage.
Shen Caiying questioned the government, according to Article 15 of the "National Health Insurance Drug Price Adjustment Operation Measures", the directive drug is not allowed to have a floor price, but the Director of Health Insurance Shi Chongliang publicly stated that the directive drug should be set a floor price to solve the problem of drug shortage.
Shen Caiying said that for every US dollar used in the United States on the instructions, it can save 6 to 7 US dollars for health insurance, which can save 10.2 billion US dollars a year.
Shen Caiying suggested that the government, to solve the problem of shortage of drugs, please administer according to law, instruct that drugs should not be paid, cancel the daily drug charge, and pay.
The drug shortage center must combine relevant professional groups, patient groups, and pharmaceutical industry to jointly discuss the problem of drug shortage.
In addition, one of the four vice presidents of the Executive Yuan ’ s Commission for Sustainable Development is Minister Weifu. I wonder if the Minister of Weifu has told the Executive Yuan that there is a serious shortage of drugs?
Or do you want the community pharmacy to suffer silently?
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One challenge in the healthcare system is the shortage of nursing staff, which can leave the system vulnerable to pandemics and impact patient care.

Title:

Content: Hospitals spanning England face critically low levels of intravenous paracetamol - as a national shortage of the popular painkiller runs on. Paracetamol administered via an IV is the safest and most effective drug to give patients who are in post-operation pain - but staff at one hospital trust in particular have been told to pull the plug on the drug from anaesthetic rooms immediately.

The shortage of IV paracetamol is expected to run into November at earliest, with a Department for Health and Social Care spokesman blaming 'capacity constraints with a manufacturer' as the cause. One hospital worker detailed how deeply worried they were at the shortage - citing how it is much more effective than the orally consumed version.

They said: "It is deeply worrying. We use IV paracetamol because tablets taken orally are only 30% effective. Given by IV it is a potent and direct drug and it restricts pain very quickly."

Read more: Doctor warns that silent pandemic 'scarier' than Covid-19 is already killing a million a year

It is reported by The Mirror that they went on: "The alternatives are oral morphine, which is very slow-acting, or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen and aspirin, which can have negative side effects such as bleeding and allergic reactions."

Drug shortages have become a global problem, worsened by the recent Covid pandemic, the ongoing war in Ukraine, the energy crisis and record levels of inflation. Last winter, France completely culled the internet sales of paracetamol products in a widespread shortage blamed on a Chinese export ban on raw materials.

In Great Britain meanwhile, it is Brexit which is primarily blamed for making matters worse. This is because drug imports from the EU - which historically make up two thirds of the National Health Service's supply - are at their lowest ever levels since leaving.

The health department’s spokesman, said: "Guidance has been issued to the NHS advising on how to manage the issue and we are working with those in the supply chain to resolve this as soon as possible."

Labour’s shadow health minister, Liz Kendall, said: "Concerned staff and patients will understandably be seeking reassurance that the pain relief they need is available. The Government must spell out the urgent steps being taken to resolve the shortage."

It comes after a Covid Inquiry heard that a lack of nurses left the NHS and Great Britain vulnerable to the pandemic - with the infection control lead at the Royal College of Nursing telling of a national shortage of PPE due to a lack of planning for an airborne virus.

Rosemary Gallagher, the RCN’s professional lead for infection prevention and control, explained: "The resilience of the health and care workforce is absolutely essential in order to be able to deliver health care services that meet the public's needs. We know that we went into the pandemic with a significant shortage, about 50,000 nurses short.

"That immediately put us at risk when we needed to surge capacity to support patients at home and in hospitals."

The intervention came the same day that a damning international study warned that Britain has fewer nurses than other developed nations.

Medication shortages affect various types of drugs, including cancer chemotherapy, emergency drugs, antibiotics, antipyretics, and anti-diarrheal medications, with cancer drugs such as cisplatin and carboplatin being specifically impacted.

Title:

Content: As drug shortage list grows, many hospitals face tough decisions on rationing care

More than half of hospital pharmacists are reporting a critical shortage of chemotherapy drugs and nearly all are reporting overall medicine supply gaps as prescription drug shortages near an all time high, according to a new survey.

Hospital pharmacists said drug shortages have forced 1 in 3 health systems to delay, cancel or ration care or switch to alternate drugs to continue to treat patients. And 99% are reporting some drug supply shortages, an American Society of Health-System Pharmacists survey of more than 1,000 pharmacists released Thursday found.

The organization reported shortages of 309 drugs, near the all-time high of 320 shortages in 2014. The scarcity of key drugs is prompting hospitals to find or substitute drugs and change treatment plans as needed.

“In some cases, there are no alternatives to the affected drugs, which puts patients at risk," ASHP Chief Executive Officer Paul W. Abramowitz said in a statement. "This issue requires quick action from Congress to address the underlying causes of shortages and ensure patients have the medications they need.”

Cancer drug shortages

In June, the Food and Drug Administration said it will temporarily allow overseas drug manufacturers to import some chemotherapy drugs.

The FDA allowed Qilu Pharmaceutical, a drug manufacturer in China, to import the injectable chemotherapy drug cisplatin in 50-milligram vials. Toronto pharmaceutical company Apotex Corp. will distribute the medication in the United States.

More than a dozen cancer drugs have been in shortage in recent months, including cisplatin and carboplatin, used to treat lung, breast, prostate and gynecologic cancers. The National Cancer Institute said cisplatin and similar drugs are prescribed for 10% to 20% of all cancer patients.

In June, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network released a survey of 27 academic cancer centers that found 93% reported shortages of carboplatin and 70% faced shortages of cisplatin.

When cancer hospitals face such shortages, they attempt to make sure there's enough medication for patients to finish the course of treatment, said Mike Ganio, ASHP's senior director of pharmacy practice and quality.

Cancer hospitals facing such shortages might change medications for new patients starting on chemotherapy, said Ganio, a former pharmacy manager at an academic cancer center.

"You try to keep that patient on the same regimen as much as you can, unless they're failing it for some reason, and then you would switch," Ganio said.

Steroids, hormonal drugs also in short supply

More than 1 in 5 hospital pharmacists also reported shortages for steroids, hormonal drugs and oral liquids such as lidocaine, ibuprofen and amoxicillin.

A smaller number of pharmacists said heart medications, emergency prefilled syringes and drugs used for intensive care unit patients were in short supply. Others reported shortages of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medicines, antimicrobial drugs and injectable opioids.

In all, about two-thirds of pharmacists said the shortages were "moderately impactful," which means they are managing shortages but patients are affected.

Pharmacists are managing the shortages by offering therapeutic alternatives, buying different vial sizes or concentrations and rationing medicines.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Survey: Drug shortages are widespread, hospitals ration care

The supply of pharmaceuticals has been affected by several factors, including the Covid pandemic, war, and economic crises, leading to global drug shortages.

Chemotherapy drugs, including cisplatin and carboplatin, are among the medications affected by the shortage in the US, posing a risk to patients with various types of cancer.

Generic drugs are available as an alternative to brand-name medications in case of supply issues, ensuring continuity of treatment.

Medication shortages extend beyond antibiotics to include pain relievers and potentially other types such as tuberculosis medications and skin infection treatments, as inferred from the broad categories of medications listed as being in short supply.