ACP Says Prescription Drug Shortages are a Public Health Crisis, Offers Recommendations
WASHINGTON, August 11, 2025—Medication shortages are a public health crisis, says the American College of Physicians (ACP) in a new policy paper published today. “Bolstering the Medication Supply Chain and Ameliorating Medication Shortages: A Position Paper from the American College of Physicians,” published in Annals of Internal Medicine, offers recommendations to resolve current prescription drug shortages and suggests measures that policymakers can take to prevent shortages in the future.
“Prescription drugs are a crucial component of a physician’s toolkit and serve a life enhancing and sustaining role in millions of patients’ lives,” said Jason M. Goldman, MD, MACP, president of ACP. “Drug shortages are at a record high, causing tangible negative consequences on patient health and physicians’ ability to practice medicine. A successful effort to remedy the complex problem of shortages requires collaboration among several relevant entities, such as policymakers, manufacturers and health systems.”
ACP’s paper calls out medication shortages as a public health crisis that leads to poor health outcomes and places significant strain on physicians and hospitals. To resolve and present future medication shortages, the paper suggests entities such as policymakers and health systems collaborate and prioritize public policy approaches and research. Equitable access to medications is a pillar of patient care, and ACP recommends establishing procedures to impartially distribute essential medications during a drug shortage.
Policymakers and relevant entities should make reasonable accommodations that reduce physician and patient administrative burden brought on by medication shortages, such as extra billing and documentation requirements. ACP supports public policy approaches that strengthen medication supply chains, working to prevent future shortages while also implementing monitoring processes for existing or emerging shortages. Public and private entities procuring medication should use sustainable procurement practices that minimize and deter medication shortages, creating incentives that reward quality and transparency over low cost.
During drug shortages, compound drugs can play an important role in meeting patient needs, particularly in the case that lifesaving treatment is needed. However, the mass distribution of compound drugs during shortages should be time-limited to the duration of the shortage and not a fundamental component of the US strategy to reduce drug shortages.
ACP supports the importation of medications during periods of shortage in a safe and timely manner to address immediate need and recommends that any program to do so contains processes necessary to ensure quality and safety of imported medications. Finally, to mitigate business and market factors that contribute to shortages, ACP urges federal regulators to address anticompetitive business practices and promote a diversified manufacturing base.
“Policymakers at the federal, state and regional level have a responsibility to work with the medical community to take actions that will meaningfully relieve current drug shortages and prevent future ones,” concluded Dr. Goldman. “Shortages pose a crisis on a national scale. The implementation of ACP’s recommendations would be significant strides toward a more sustainable, reliable, and equitable health care system.”
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About the American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 172 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 162,000 internal medicine physicians, related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads and LinkedIn.
Contact: Jacquelyn Blaser, (202) 261-4572, jblaser@acponline.org