Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Drug Shortages Hit Record For The First Three Months Of This Year
USA Today: Drug Shortages In 2024 Reach Record High, From Wegovy To Chemotherapy
Drug shortages have reached a record high in the first three months of 2024. In the first quarter of the year, 323 drugs were running low, surpassing the 2014 high of 320, according to data provided by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and the University of Utah Drug Information Service. Since 2001, the groups have tracked shortages using voluntary reports from practitioners and patients that are confirmed by drug makers. (Robledo, 4/17)
NPR: Prior Authorizations Make Growth Hormone Shortage Worse
Dr. Jennifer Miller has been an author of dozens of studies about rare endocrine diseases over the last two decades. Hundreds of patients fly to Gainesville, Fla., from all over the U.S. to see her for treatment. But now, her office is inundated with faxes, emails, texts and phone calls that have little to do with her life's work. ... A shortage of growth hormone — as well as how insurance companies are handling the problem — has consumed nearly every spare minute she has had for the last six months. (Lupkin, 4/17)
CNN: ‘Kids Need To Breathe Just Like Adults Do:’ $35 Price Caps Don’t Apply To Asthma Meds Young Children Need, Doctors Say
Kerry Pearl remembers the pharmacist holding up the medicine her 4-year-old son needed to help him breathe. “He was literally holding it, looking at me like: ‘I can’t give you this,’ ” she recalls. “My poor kid is at home not sleeping through the night and waking up coughing, and you’re holding the answer and the insurance company kind of holds the keys here.” (Tirrell, 4/17)
Reuters: FDA Classifies Recall Of Boston Scientific Device As 'Most Serious'
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday classified a recall of Boston Scientific's device used to block blood flow during excessive bleeding or hemorrhaging as "most serious". An investigation showed that Boston's device, Obsidio Embolic, when used with a specific technique posed a higher risk of bowel ischemia during procedures to stop gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding, the agency said. (4/17)
KFF Health News: The Path To A Better Tuberculosis Vaccine Runs Through Montana
A team of Montana researchers is playing a key role in the development of a more effective vaccine against tuberculosis, an infectious disease that has killed more people than any other. The BCG (Bacille Calmette-Guérin) vaccine, created in 1921, remains the sole TB vaccine. While it is 40% to 80% effective in young children, its efficacy is very low in adolescents and adults, leading to a worldwide push to create a more powerful vaccine. (Robbins, 4/18)
