Rheumatology Feeling the Lack
Dr. Cush emphasizes that drug shortages in rheumatology, while a serious problem, have not risen to a catastrophic level. He says that none of his patients has suffered permanent harm or damage due to a drug shortage, as has been seen with cancer patients.
“While there are certain patients who’ve been inconvenienced by this, I would not say this has been a show-stopper for rheumatology,” he says. “We have enough alternatives that short supply has not shut down patient care.”
Dr. Fudman says that, for many patients, there is only one optimal drug.
“There’s not such a wide variety of drugs in rheumatology that it’s easy to switch off of various things,” he says. “If somebody’s on methotrexate, they’re on methotrexate. If they’re on leflunomide, they’re on leflunomide. These are drugs that take a long time to build up their efficacy. It’s not something you can switch back and forth.”
The FDA says it confirmed 178 cases of drug shortages in 2010—a record number. That was up from 55 shortages five years ago.1
According to the University of Utah Drug Information Service, there were 120 shortages reported in the U.S. in 2001—but that number has risen to 211 in 2010.
Through September of this year, 200 shortages were reported.2