November 8, 2021 – Vizient, Inc. (Irving, TX) announced the formation of a new alliance to end drug shortages in the U.S. The company says that the “End Drug Shortages Alliance” will “provide a forum for key stakeholders across the industry to take strategic aim at one of the healthcare industry’s most pressing and enduring issues.”
The End Drug Shortages Alliance will formally bring together industry stakeholders, including providers, group purchasing organizations, manufacturers, distributors and other industry thought leaders and champions.
Efforts will focus on improving access to medications through greater transparency across market participants, leading to improved quality manufacturing of medications and production of additional supply.
Vizient, which connects more than half the nation’s healthcare organizations to pharmaceutical suppliers through its contracting services, monitors more than $80 billion in pharmaceutical spend across all classes for trade. The number of active drug shortages in the U.S. has remained above 200 since 2017, according to Vizient. In 2019, a Vizient member survey revealed that managing drug shortages costs U.S. hospitals more than $359 million annually in labor alone.
Vizient, along with members and supplier partners, recently achieved a significant milestone of 100 million units of essential medications or up to six months of additional inventory based on member purchases into to the supply chain since its inception less than two years ago.