Causes, Impact and Management of Drug Shortage Crisis

The number of new and continuing drug shortages has continued to be on the rise for last ten years. Drug shortages not only reduces the quality of patient care but also contributes to the indirect costs on the healthcare systems by requiring additional time and money to be spent finding alternatives, rescheduling procedures, or modifying drug usage protocols. In order to better understand the dilemma of this crisis, this review article will focus on the specific causes, impact, and most importantly, management strategies of the drug shortage crisis.