A number of other websites contain important information about hospital group purchasing organizations (GPOs) and/or drug shortages. The list, below, is not all-inclusive. It does not include websites or publications that are known to be mouthpieces for the GPO industry.

Physicians Against Drug Shortages does not necessarily agree with the material appearing on these sites, particularly articles that describe the causes of the drug shortages as "complex and multifactorial," or words to that effect. There is one underlying cause: group purchasing organizations.

• Current FDA Drug Shortage List. Click  HERE
  

• American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Current Drug Shortage list. This list is considered more comprehensive than the FDA's.  Click HERE.

• ​Important Note: PADS has no reason to question the accuracy of the data presented on the ASHP website.  However, we have major problems with statements made in the media by officials of the University of Utah Drug Information Service, which collects the data, concerning the causes of this crisis. In none of their press interviews or journal articles, as far as we have been able to determine, have they acknowledged that GPOs play any role whatsoever in the shortages. In our opinion, there are at least two key reasons for this: 1) the site is funded at least in part by Vizient (formerly Novation), the largest GPO; and 2) the University of Utah Medical Center is a major Vizient shareholder hospital (the former CEO of the University of Utah Medical Center was a Vizient board member). We believe this represents a serious conflict of interest.
  

• Drug Shortages in Canada. Highlighting the fact that drug shortages are a global problem, this site includes articles in English-language publications worldwide. Click HERE.

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• Government Accountability Office (GAO). The non-partisan investigative arm of Congress. Includes studies on GPOs and drug shortages. Click HERE
  

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Includes data on the fungal meningitis outbreak, which began in  2012. Click HERE

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• American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA). Includes member surveys on drug shortages. Click HERE
  

• Medical Devices Manufacturers Association (MDMA). A trade association of entrepreneurial medical devices makers, which has lobbied for years for reform of the group purchasing system. Click HERE.

• Office of the Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Responsible for monitoring compliance with the anti-kickback safe harbor statute. Site includes advisory opinions on safe harbor rules. Click HERE​

• ​Access Our Medicine. A Vancouver, B. C.-based nonprofit organized to expand access to affordable prescription drugs. Click HERE.
  

• PUNCTURE the Movie.  PUNCTURE is a 2011 feature film, starring Captain America's Chris Evans. Based on a true story, it depicts how GPOs have denied healthcare workers access to safe syringes that can prevent potentially deadly accidental needlestick injuries.  In addition to background on the film, this website contains documentation on GPO abuses and needlestick injuries.  ClickHERE

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Blogs

• Drug Shortage Report. Click HERE.

Professional Journals

• Journal of Clinical Oncology. Click HERE.
  

• Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing. Click HERE
  

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• Health Affairs. Click HERE​​

• Journal of Oncology Practice. Click HERE

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• New England Journal of Medicine. Click HERE

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Independent trade/professional publications  

• Anesthesiology News. Click HERE

• FiercePharma. Click HERE

• Healthcare Purchasing News. Click HERE

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• Kaiser Health News. Click HERE
  

• Medpage Today. Click HERE
  

• Medscape. Click HERE
  

• Modern Healthcare. Click HERE

Other Sites

• Masimo Corporation.Maker of the leading pulse oximeter. Company was finally able to get its lifesaving pulse oximeter into hospitals, but only after 1)  its story appeared on page one of The New York Times, 2) its CEO testified before the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee, and 3) it filed an antitrust lawsuit against Tyco Healthcare, the dominant manufacturer, which had exclusive GPO contracts. Click HERE.

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• Phillip L. Zweig, background on PADS executive director on Authors Guild website. Click HERE.
  

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• Nogpo.com. Company marketing a software program to enable providers to purchase hospital supplies online, circumventing GPOs. ClickHERE.