October 31st, 2011

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that President Obama is expected today to ask the FDA to take steps to reduce drug shortages, which have been blamed for several patient deaths. The shortages “tend to affect cancer drugs, anesthetics, drugs used in emergency medicine, and electrolytes needed for intravenous feeding. Hospitals have been forced to buy from secondary suppliers at huge markups. Surgeries and cancer treatments have been delayed.”