Drug shortages forcing hard decisions on rationing treatments

In recent years, shortages of a wide variety of drugs have become increasingly common in American medicine. The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists currently lists inadequate supplies of more than 150 drugs and therapeutics, for such reasons as manufacturing problems and federal safety crackdowns. The rationing that results from such shortages has been largely hidden from patients and the public. Medical institutions across the country have faced choices about who gets drugs.