Physician approaches to drug shortages: Results of a national survey of pediatric hematologist/oncologists

Table 1 Demographics

Characteristic	n (%)
Current position
Attending physician	161 (84.7)
Fellow	23 (12.1)
Non-practicing physician	2 (1.1)
Type of patients
Oncology	162 (85.7)
Hematology	145 (76.7)
Stem cell transplant	54 (28.6)
Do not see patients	2 (1.1)
Type of practice
Academic medical center	160 (83.8)
Community/private institution	39 (15.7)
Years since completing fellowship
Less than 5	64 (34.4)
5-10	44 (23.7)
11-20	33 (17.7)
More than 20	45 (24.2)
Gender
Female	104 (55)
Male	85 (45)

Table 2 Decision makers for shortage drug distribution

	Who makes the decision about distribution of shortage drugs at your institution?	%	Who should make the decision about distribution of shortage drugs at your institution?	%
Pharmacist	128	70.3	147	80.3
Physician	109	59.9	152	83.1
Hospital administration	41	22.5	35	19.1
Panel/group	32	17.6	77	42.1
Ethics committee	8	4.4	35	19.1
Nurse	1	0.5	8	4.4
Parent	1	0.5	6	3.3
Do not know	46	25.3	13	7.1
Total responses	366		473

Table 3 Prioritization of distribution criteria

	Mean	Criteria	Ethical Framework
Strongly disagree	0.0
	37.1	Order of arrival should impact the priority given to a patient	First-come first-served
	41.8	A patient with fewer co-morbidities should be given priority over a patient who has more co-morbidities	Sickest first
	44.3	Younger patients should receive priority over older patients	Fair innings
	47.3	A patient with longer anticipated survival should be given priority over a patient with shorter anticipated survival	Saving the most
	51.8	A patient needing a small dose of a shortage drug should be prioritized over a patient needing a larger dose	Saving the most
	57.2	A patient using a drug for an approved indication should have priority over a patient using the drug for off-label use	Saving the most
	61.0	A patient who is starting therapy should be prioritized over a patient who has nearly completed therapy	Saving the most
	74.3	A patient using the shortage drug for curative intent should be prioritized over a patient using the drug for palliation	Saving the most
Strongly agree	100.0