What Happened to All Those Hospital Drug Shortages?

Second of three parts

Drug shortages aren’t in the headlines as much as they were when Civica Rx was founded in 2018, CEO Martin VanTrieste says that lack of appearance may be deceiving.

“You don’t see it as much in the news because we’re focused on something else right now, called the pandemic,” VanTrieste said in an interview this week with Managed Healthcare Executive.

But in this segment of a wide-ranging interview conducted earlier this week, VanTrieste also says that Civic Rx’s members — which now include 50 healthcare systems comprising roughly 1,500 hospitals — are experiencing fewer shortages because Civica’s strategies have alleviated the problem. The strategies include strategic stockpiling and redundant suppliers.

Moreover, earlier this year, Civica announced that it was constructing a manufacturing facility in Petersburg, Virginia.

In another part of the interview, VanTrieste said it is currently supplying 60 drugs to hospitals is aiming to increase that number to 100 within the first five years of the company’s existence, or 2023,

In this segment, VanTrieste also discussed the three tiers of Civica’s membership program. “Partnering members” on the lowest tier pay $300 per licensed hospital bad “so it’s very affordable to a community hospital,” VanTrieste said. In some cases, the organization may waive the one-time fee. Hospitals also pay Civica for the drugs they buy.