Ruchika Talwar, MD, discusses ongoing drug shortages in urology

The American Urological Association’s (AUA’s) 8th Annual Urology Advocacy Summit recently took place in Washington D.C., centered around 4 key Congressional asks: Medicare payment reform, the work force shortage and burnout, prior authorization, and drug shortages.

In a recent interview with Urology Times®, Ruchika Talwar, MD, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, discussed the fourth ask, focusing on the impact of the limited supply of certain drugs on urologic care. At the Advocacy Summit, Talwar took part in a panel session titled, “Short Supply, Stronger Solutions: Tackling Drug Shortages in Urologic Care,” which she recapped in the discussion below.

Talwar explained the reasons behind drug shortages using examples from urologic care. She noted, “A key point is the supply chain is very fragile, and there's not really a good financial incentive to make these drugs.”

For example, she referenced the ongoing BCG shortage, which has limited supply due to having only 1 manufacturer of BCG in the US. She also highlighted the current saline shortage, which was caused by the impact of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, where saline is manufactured.

Talwar ended the discussion by explaining their ask to Congress, which was for the Department of Health & Human Services to create a vulnerable medications list. She explained that with this, urologists would “at least have a list of drugs that we know are potentially vulnerable to shortages from drivers that are external to health care and at least be able to somewhat prepare in the event that that happens again.”