Drug Shortages in Otolaryngology

Definitions of Drug Shortage

Two definitions are used to denote drug shortages in the United States:

• American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP): Drug shortage refers to a “supply issue that affects how the pharmacy prepares or dispenses a drug product or influences patient care when prescribers must use an alternative agent.”
• Food and Drug Administration (FDA) prioritizes drugs by medical necessity: Drug shortage refers to any drug “used to prevent or treat a serious or life-threatening disease or medical condition for which there is no available source with sufficient supply of that drug or alternative drug available.” (See Ventola CL. The drug shortage crisis in the United States. P T. 2011;36:740).