Pharmacists increasingly are being asked to make drugs in bulk for hospitals that are in short supply, and they’re even beginning to make chemotherapies. But some in the industry worry about the unintended consequences of overreliance.
Hospitals’ reliance on pharmacist-made drugs, a practice called compounding, has risen in step with worsening drug shortages.
When the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists surveyed its members this past summer, 59% said they increased purchases from compounders because of drug shortages.