Medical Minute: Pharmaceutical Shortage

As more than 300 medicines are in short supply, including treatments for the side-effects of chemotherapy, pharmacists are sounding the alarm and spreading awareness for how these shortages can impact a patient's recovery.

Kristin Zastoupil and her now 16-year-old son, Bryton, are on the other side of what she calls his scary battle with leukemia.

"You almost don't feel like you're in the room and it becomes kind of this surreal nightmare," Zastoupil said. 

Bryton's chemotherapy journey wasn't always easy. He landed in intensive care and endured grueling pediatric treatments for 30 weeks. But Zastoupil says it wasn't until the drugs Bryton needed were in short supply that she began to worry.

"It was the question of, is he gonna get what he needs? Are we even gonna be able to have the best chance at beating this?" Zastoupil said. 

Michael Gaino with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists says drug shortages, a result of both cost and resource issues, are reaching historic highs.

"We tend to think of some of the pharmaceutical companies making lots and lots of money, but in reality, some of these generic medications make very, very slim margins," Gaino said. 

The Biden administration wants Congress to pass legislation to address the issue. Advocates from the nonprofit Angels for Change are putting pressure on manufacturers to bolster the supply chain.

"It has to be sustainable. It has to be redundant and we have to have recourse so that if it does fail, we know exactly what tools we're going to activate," says Laura Wray of Angels for Change.

Now that Bryton's cancer is in remission, Zastoupil is sharing her family's story

'We were very lucky in that Bryton was such a fighter and really pushed through," said Zastoupil. "Every minute we were trying to get closer and closer to that finish line and any delays in medication or any holds would just make that journey even longer."