A U G U S T 2 0 1 9 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 3 3
ent. Pharmaceutical companies hit with FDA
warnings for failing to comply with quality med-
ication production standards has led to massive
recalls and forced some manufacturing plants
to shutter, putting more strain on other drug
producers that might not have the capacity or
resources to fill the void. In September 2015,
Pfizer acquired Hospira in a major merger involv-
ing companies that make a vast majority of
injectable medications. Pfizer inherited Hospira's
manufacturing plants, which were wrought with
quality control problems, and implemented a
remediation plan 2 years ago. But production
problems, unbelievably and frustratingly, persist.
In general, the generic injectables market remains
fragile. There isn't much of a profit incentive —
generics are expensive to make and inexpensive to
buy — for companies to produce the medications.
Big Pharma is big businesses, first and foremost, and
companies are opting to focus their manufacturing
resources on more lucrative brand-name therapeu-
tics.
Mother Nature and market forces make drug short-
ages predictability unpredictable — and extremely dif-
ficult to manage. But try telling that to frustrated anes-
thesiologists and surgeons who don't give two shots of saline
about the underlying causes that limit their access to needed med-
ications. You can look for untapped resources (spoiler alert: none
exist) to find the drugs they want or you can accept that managing
drug shortages is the new normal and realize that doing it well
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN,
CNOR
