National Drug Shortages
New Shortages by Year
January 2001 to March 31, 2023

Note: Each column represents the number of new shortages identified during that year.
University of Utah Drug Information Service
Contact: [email protected], @foxerinr for more information.
National Drug Shortages
New Shortages by Year
January 2001 to March 31, 2023, % Injectable

Note: Each column represents the number of new shortages identified during that year.
University of Utah Drug Information Service
Contact: [email protected], @foxerinr for more information.
National Drug Shortages
Active Shortages by Quarter – 5 Year Trend

Note: Each point represents the number of active shortages at the end of each quarter.
University of Utah Drug Information Service
Contact: [email protected], @foxerinr for more information.
National Drug Shortages
Active Shortages Top 5 Drug Classes

University of Utah Drug Information Service
Contact: [email protected], @foxerinr for more information.
National Drug Shortages
Common Drug Classes in Short Supply – 5 Year Trend

University of Utah Drug Information Service
Contact: [email protected], @foxerinr for more information.
National Drug Shortages
Reasons for Shortages as Reported by Manufacturers
During UUDIS Investigation

University of Utah Drug Information Service
Contact: [email protected], @foxerinr for more information.
Summary
- Shortages are not resolving and new shortages are increasing. Ongoing and active shortages are the highest since 2014.
- Shortages of local anesthetics and basic hospital drugs, albuterol solution, common oral and ophthalmic products, and ADHD treatments are affecting large numbers of organizations and patients.
- Chemotherapy drugs, often without alternatives, are increasingly in short supply and have returned to the list of top-five drug classes affected by shortage.
- Workload required to manage shortages, including work to change pharmacy automation and electronic health records is difficult in the face of staffing shortages.
Selected Links of Interest
- Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs (hearing and report)
- Building Resilience Into US Prescription Drug Supply Chains
- National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine to examine the security of America’s medical product supply chain
- Improving the Quality and Resilience of the United States Healthcare Supply Chain.
- National Strategy for a Resilient Public Health Supply Chain
- Essential Prescription Drugs Supply Chain and Manufacturing Resilience Assessment