Mass. hospitals sound warning on drug shortages

BOSTON — Lawmakers have been warned that chronic shortages of prescription drugs are compromising the safety and quality of patient care and driving up health care costs by forcing hospitals to buy scarce medications at exorbitant markups.

Doctors, hospital officials and patient advocates testified Monday at a hearing called by the Legislature's Public Health Committee to examine the impact of drug shortages in Massachusetts. They said cancer drugs and life-saving pediatric medications are often among those in short supply.

The shortages often force hospitals to purchase from the so-called "gray market," a shadowy network of secondary distributors who often charge many times the normal list prices for drugs.

The frequency of drug shortages has soared nationally in recent years, with many of the problems blamed on production deficiencies at U.S. pharmaceutical labs.