Vizient survey reveals drug shortages continue to cause significant strain on U.S. healthcare nationwide.
Vizient announced an updated analysis of the financial impact of drug shortages for hospitals’ workforce and budgets. The 2024 Vizient survey, “Beyond the Shortage: The Hidden Cost of Drug Supply Chain Disruptions, reveals that drug shortages continue to disrupt healthcare nationwide, having intensified since the 2019 survey. The survey responses came from hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities that monitored an average of 43 drug shortages and a maximum of 70 over the course of 2023.
All facilities reported experiencing disruptions to patient care due to drug shortages. Shortages impacted a variety of clinical areas, with outpatient infusion services experiencing the most significant disruptions to patient care with a staggering 41% of all cases impacted or delayed. Over the next 10 years, the number of patients using ambulatory service lines will increase by 17%. This alarming trend shows the serious effects of shortages on patient care, according to Vizient.
The Vizient analysis revealed that in 2023, hospitals across the U.S. spent roughly 20 million hours managing a range of drug shortages, which translates to nearly $900 million annually in labor costs – more than double the labor costs reported of just under $360 million in the 2019 survey.
The 2024 survey results additionally show the continuing financial problems caused by drug shortages, such as increased hospital budgets and labor costs. Approximately 74% of facilities reported budget overruns – nearly the same as the 75% reported in Vizient’s 2019 survey, with Vizient stating that there has been no measurable economic improvement. Among respondents, 74% exceeded their pharmacy budgets as a direct impact of monitoring and managing drug shortages.
There was a significant increase in labor costs related to managing drug shortages in 2024, rising from $359 million to $894 million between 2019 and 2024, according to Vizient. Pediatric facilities have faced the greatest financial and labor strain.
Time that hospitals and health systems spent managing drug shortages increased from 8.6 million hours to 20.2 million hours from 2019 to 2024. Communication gaps were identified as a significant challenge in managing drug shortages, with numerous respondents emphasizing the need for earlier and more transparent notifications and more accurate product release dates.
Relying on secondary distributors for essential medications has led to an average price increase of about 214% compared to primary distributors, which greatly increases the financial burden of drug shortages, according to Vizient.