Current Situation, Determinants, and Solutions to Drug Shortages in Shaanxi Province, China: A Qualitative Study
Open accessAbstract
OBJECTIVE: Drug shortages were a complex global problem. The aim of this study was to analyze, characterize, and assess the drug shortages, and identify possible solutions in Shaanxi Province, western China. METHODS: A qualitative methodological approach was conducted during May-June 2015 and December 2015-January 2016. Semi-structured interviews were performed to gather information from representatives of hospital pharmacists, wholesalers, pharmaceutical producers, and local health authorities. RESULTS: Thirty participants took part in the study. Eight traditional Chinese medicines and 87 types of biologicals and chemicals were reported to be in short supply. Most were essential medicines. Five main determinants of drug shortages were detected: too low prices, too low market demands, Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) issues, materials issues, and approval issues for imported drugs. Five different solutions were proposed by the participants: 1) let the market decide the drug price; 2) establish an information platform; 3) establish a reserve system; 4) enhance the communication among the three parties in the supply chain; and 5) improve hospital inventory management. CONCLUSIONS: Western China was currently experiencing a serious drug shortage. Numerous reasons for the shortage were identified. Most drug shortages in China were currently because of "too low prices." To solve this problem, all of the stakeholders, especially the government, needed to participate in managing the drug shortages.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Medicine shortages are a complex global challenge affecting all countries, including South Africa, with shortages of even essential medicines becoming a global problem irrespective of the economic status of countries.
“Over the years, the shortage of medicines has been a challenge to the effective delivery of quality healthcare services worldwide including South Africa [1–10], with shortages of even essential medicines becoming a global problem irrespective of the economic status of countries [11–13].”
From Medicine shortages and challenges with the procurement process among public sector hospitals in South Africa; findings and implications (2020) · cites this paper as [3]
The Background describes drug shortages as a complex global challenge affecting both developing and developed countries. The Discussion and Conclusions report shortages of essential medicines in China, but the paper does not establish that essential-medicine shortages occur globally or specifically in South Africa. No page numbers were provided in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.85)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Impact of drug shortages on U.S. health systems.
Kaakeh, R., Sweet, B. V., Reilly, C., Bush, C. G., DeLoach, S. L., Higgins, B., Clark, A. M., & Stevenson, J. (2011) · American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy · doi:10.2146/ajhp110210 · Cited by 230 · see citing works
ASHP Guidelines on Managing Drug Product Shortages in Hospitals and Health Systems
Fox, E. R., Birt, A., James, K. B., Kokko, H., Salverson, S., & Soflin, D. L. (2009) · American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy · doi:10.2146/ajhp090026 · Cited by 217 · see citing works
Economic and Technological Drivers of Generic Sterile Injectable Drug Shortages
Woodcock, J., & Wosinska, M. (2012) · Clinical pharmacology and therapy · doi:10.1038/clpt.2012.220 · Cited by 173 · see citing works
The drug shortage crisis in the United States: causes, impact, and management strategies.
Ventola, C. L. (2011) · PubMed · Cited by 154 · see citing works
Shortages of medicines: a complex global challenge
Gray, A., & Manasse, H. (2012) · Bulletin of the World Health Organization · doi:10.2471/blt.11.101303 · Cited by 136 · see citing works
Insights into European Drug Shortages: A Survey of Hospital Pharmacists
Pauwels, K., Simoens, S., Casteels, M., & Huys, I. (2015) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0119322 · Cited by 121 · see citing works
Pauwels, K., Huys, I., Casteels, M., & Simoens, S. (2014) · BMC Health Services Research · doi:10.1186/1472-6963-14-438 · Cited by 100 · see citing works
Drug shortages–a critical challenge for the generic-drug market
Chabner, B. A. (2011) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejmp1112633 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
Meng, Q., Cheng, G., Silver, L. D., Sun, X., Rehnberg, C., & Tomson, G. B. (2005) · Health Policy and Planning · doi:10.1093/heapol/czi018 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Fang, Y., Wagner, A. K., Yang, S., Jiang, M., Zhang, F., & Ross‐Degnan, D. (2013) · The Lancet Global Health · doi:10.1016/s2214-109x(13)70072-x · Cited by 83 · see citing works
Self-citationBogaert, P., Bochenek, T., Prokop, A., & Pilc, A. (2015) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0125691 · Cited by 80 · see citing works
National survey of the impact of drug shortages in acute care hospitals
Baumer, A. M., Clark, A., Witmer, D. R., Geize, S. B., Vermeulen, L. C., & Deffenbaugh, J. H. (2004) · American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy · doi:10.1093/ajhp/61.19.2015 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Generic Medicines: Solutions for a Sustainable Drug Market?
Dylst, P., Vulto, A. G., Godman, B., & Simoens, S. (2013) · Applied Health Economics and Health Policy · doi:10.1007/s40258-013-0043-z · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Drug shortages in developed countries—reasons, therapeutic consequences, and handling
Dill, S., & Ahn, J. (2014) · European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology · doi:10.1007/s00228-014-1747-1 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Drug Shortages: The Cycle of Quantity and Quality
Kweder, S. L., & Dill, S. (2012) · Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics · doi:10.1038/clpt.2012.235 · Cited by 65 · see citing works
Unpredictable Drug Shortages: An Ethical Framework for Short-Term Rationing in Hospitals
Rosoff, P. M. (2012) · The American Journal of Bioethics · doi:10.1080/15265161.2011.634483 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Shortages of Cancer Drugs Put Patients, Trials at Risk
Kaiser, J. (2011) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.332.6029.523 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
How the US Food and Drug Administration can solve the prescription drug shortage problem.
Schweitzer, S. (2013) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.2013.301239 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Butler, D. (2013) · Nature · doi:10.1038/504015a · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Europe urged to take action on drug shortages
Casassus, B. (2015) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(15)60667-5 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Zeng, W., Zhen, J., Feng, M., Campbell, S., Finlayson, A. E. T., & Godman, B. (2014) · Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research · doi:10.2217/cer.14.28 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Medication shortages threaten cancer care
Printz, C. (2012) · Cancer · doi:10.1002/cncr.27386 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Drugs, Money, and Power: The Canadian Drug Shortage
Kaposy, C. (2013) · Journal of Bioethical Inquiry · doi:10.1007/s11673-013-9494-z · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Mirzoev, T. N., Das, M., Ebenso, B., Rawat, B., Uguru, N. P., Russo, G., Bymolt, R., & Huss, R. (2014) · BMC Health Services Research · doi:10.1186/1472-6963-14-s2-o5 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
US drug shortages: a disappearing problem?
TUCKER, M. E. (2012) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.e8551 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Economic Analysis on the Shortage of Low-price Essential Medicines Caused by Price-lowering Policy
Liu, B. (2007) · Zhongguo yaofang · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Two Deaths and a Birth: Reminiscing and Rehashing Principles in Biomedical Ethics
Ashby, M. A., & Rich, L. E. (2014) · Journal of Bioethical Inquiry · doi:10.1007/s11673-014-9509-4 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
The Comparative Study on Low-cost Drugs Online Procurement Policy in China
Long-ba, F. (2015) · Chinese Health Service Management · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
2 of the 30 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Research works printed but not linked: 11
- [2]Beerten E, Bonheure F. Autour du monde-des indisponsibilités de medicaments. Annales Pharmaceutiques Belges. 2011; 15: 11– 14.
- [7]Kux L. Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Approach to Addressing Drug Shortage; Public Workshop; Request for Comments. Federal Register, 2011.
- [10]U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A review of FDA’s approach to medical product shortages US Department of Health and Human Services, 2011.
- [20]Wang YG. Drug shortages are intensified under price ceiling. Decision and Information: financial observation. 2005; 12: 36– 37. (in Chinese)
- [23]Liu M, Wu Q. Study on the shortage of essential drugs in China. China Pharmacy 2012; 23: 673– 674. (in Chinese)
- [24]Zhang Y, Tang S. Supply and security policies of cheap commonly used drugs based on supply chain theory. Chinese General Practice 2015; 18: 243– 247. (in Chinese)
- [25]Ding Y. National Health and Family Planning Commission and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the P.R.C ensure drug supply. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine Management 2015; 23: 99. (in Chinese)
- [31]WHO. How to Develop and Implement a National Drug Policy 2nd edition Malta: World Health Organization, 2001a.
- [39]Gong SW, Zhang L, Jin S, Li LL. Management strategy for raising the accessibility to orphan drugs in China. Chinese Journal of Hospital Administration. 2010; 26: 126– 130. (in Chinese)
- [40]Gu JL, Lu YQ, Zhang R, Yue Y, Duan Yx, Xu Lz. Research on rare disease drugs attainability strategy in China. Soft Science of Health. 2013; 27: 325– 327. (in Chinese)
- [41]Liu XK, Dong NQ, Yan YJ. The reasons, impact and measures for the shortage of clinical cheap drugs. Journal of North Pharmacy. 2013; 10: 88– 89. (in Chinese)
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Drug Shortage: Causes, Impact, and Mitigation Strategies
Shukar, S., Zahoor, F., Hayat, K., Saeed, A., Gillani, A. H., Omer, S., Hu, S., Babar, Z., Fang, Y., & Yang, C. (2021) · Frontiers in Pharmacology · doi:10.3389/fphar.2021.693426 · Cited by 348 · see citing works
“As a result, the countries (India, China, United States) the producers of APIs stopped supplying some APIs to other countries that led to the global shortage of many drugs.”
BackgroundInfluentialSelf-citationMedicine Shortages: Gaps Between Countries and Global Perspectives
Acosta, A., Vanegas, E. P., Rovira, J., Godman, B., & Bochenek, T. (2019) · Frontiers in Pharmacology · doi:10.3389/fphar.2019.00763 · Cited by 147 · see citing works
“The shortage of essential medicines, including the active ingredients mostly used in injectable chemotherapy medicines, antibiotics, and anesthesia, is causing growing concern across regions including Europe, North America, Asia, and South America.”
BackgroundInfluentialModisakeng, C., Matlala, M., Godman, B., & Meyer, J. C. (2020) · BMC Health Services Research · doi:10.1186/s12913-020-05080-1 · Cited by 130 · see citing works
Bochenek, T., Abilova, V., Alkan, A., Asanin, B., de Miguel Beriain, I., Besovic, Z., Vella Bonanno, P., Bucsics, A., Davidescu, M., De Weerdt, E., et al. (2018) · Frontiers in Pharmacology · doi:10.3389/fphar.2017.00942 · Cited by 112 · see citing works
“…et al., 2013; Costelloe et al., 2014; Goldsack et al., 2014; Bogaert et al., 2015; Butterfield et al., 2015; De Weerdt et al., 2015b, 2017b; Pauwels et al., 2015; Alsheikh et al., 2016; Awad et al., 2016; Yang et al., 2016; Heiskanen et al., 2017; Mazer-Amirshahi et al., 2017; Walker et al., 2017).”
Effects of price cap regulation on the pharmaceutical supply chain
Chen, X., Yang, H., & Wang, X. (2018) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.01.030 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
“Unfortunately, evidence emerging from recent research (Han et al., 2013; Wu et al., 2015; Yang et al., 2016) indicates that the price cap policies were ineffective and resulted in some unintended consequences.”
BackgroundAtif, M., Malik, I., Mushtaq, I., & Asghar, S. (2019) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2018-027028 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Drug shortages in Saudi Arabia: Root causes and recommendations
AlRuthia, Y. S., Alwhaibi, M., Alotaibi, M. F., Asiri, S. A., Alghamdi, B. M., Almuaythir, G. S., Alsharif, W. R., Alrasheed, H. H., Alswayeh, Y. A., Alotaibi, A. J., et al. (2018) · Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal · doi:10.1016/j.jsps.2018.05.002 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
“For example, strict price control was found to be one of the contributing factors to drug shortages in China (Yang et al., 2016).”
BackgroundMethodAlleviating Drug Shortages: The Role of Mandated Reporting Induced Operational Transparency
Lee, J.-H., Lee, H. S., Shin, H., & Krishnan, V. (2021) · Management Science · doi:10.1287/mnsc.2020.3857 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Ensuring universal access to old antibiotics: a critical but neglected priority
Pulcini, C., Beovič, B., Béraud, G., Carlet, J. M., Cars, O., Howard, P., Levy-Hara, G., Li, G., Nathwani, D., Roblot, F., et al. (2017) · Clinical Microbiology and Infection · doi:10.1016/j.cmi.2017.04.026 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
“Causes for these shortages are multiple and complex, including failures in manufacturing processes, scarcity of rawmaterials, concentration of manufacturing in emerging economies, pressure on profit margins, and sometimes dependence on a single producer [7].”
BackgroundAtif, M., Sehar, A., Malik, I., Mushtaq, I., Ahmad, N., & Babar, Z. (2021) · BMC Health Services Research · doi:10.1186/s12913-021-06812-7 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
“The interview schema (Supplementary File 2) for each stakeholder was designed to respond to the study rationale after comprehensive literature review [4, 9, 41] and consultations with the experts.”
MethodAtif, M., Asghar, S., Mushtaq, I., & Malik, I. (2019) · Journal of Infection and Public Health · doi:10.1016/j.jiph.2019.07.003 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Hasnida, A., Kok, M. O., & Pisani, E. (2021) · BMJ Global Health · doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003663 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Benhabib, A., Ioughlissen, S., Ratignier-Carbonneil, C., & Maison, P. (2020) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2019-034033 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Said, A., Goebel, R., Ganso, M., Zagermann-Muncke, P., & Schulz, M. (2018) · Health Policy · doi:10.1016/j.healthpol.2018.09.005 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
“The reasons for drug shortages are manifold and usually due to manufacturing problems, pricing or recalls; they can also be demand-related (13, 14).”
BackgroundDewi, E. K., Dahlui, M., Chalidyanto, D., & Rochmah, T. N. (2019) · Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research · doi:10.1080/14737167.2019.1633308 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
“It is recommended that pharmaceutical unit should identify the drugs which are in urgent need and for emergency use and also drugs which are most commonly prescribed with rapid turnover [21,22].”
BackgroundFittler, A., Vida, R., Rádics, V., & Botz, L. (2018) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0203185 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Atif, M., Malik, I., Asif, M., Qamar-uz-Zaman, M., Ahmad, N., & Scahill, S. L. (2020) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-819837-7.00024-8 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Bilal, A. I., Bititci, U., & Fenta, T. G. (2024) · Pharmacy · doi:10.3390/pharmacy12050132 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Adhikari, B., Ranabhat, K., Khanal, P., Poudel, M., Marahatta, S. B., Khanal, S., Paudyal, V., & Shrestha, S. (2024) · PLOS Global Public Health · doi:10.1371/journal.pgph.0003128 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
The Price Effect of Drug Price Ceilings: Intended and Unintended Consequences
Li, J., & Wu, D. (2021) · Management Science · doi:10.1287/mnsc.2021.4166 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
McLaughlin, M. M., Sutton, S. H., Jensen, A. O., & Esterly, J. S. (2017) · Infectious Diseases and Therapy · doi:10.1007/s40121-017-0157-y · Cited by 19 · see citing works
“As an example, in a review article regarding neonatal treatment for CNS or disseminated HSV infections during an acyclovir shortage, foscarnet and ganciclovir were both considered unsafe to use due to ADRs and very little safety data [8].”
BackgroundDrug shortages in China: a cross-sectional study
Song, Y.-Y., Li, J., Zhao, F., & Jin, P.-F. (2023) · BMC Health Services Research · doi:10.1186/s12913-023-09295-w · Cited by 18 · see citing works
“proposed establishing a reserve system for drug shortages to reserve specific medicines, such as emergency medicines and orphan drugs [10].”
BackgroundInfluentialCombating drug shortages in China: surveillance warning and practice standardization
Shi, Y., Yang, P., Li, X., Lv, J., Yin, T., Gong, Z., Sun, S., & Zhou, B. (2020) · International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy · doi:10.1007/s11096-020-00987-5 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
AlAzmi, A., & AlRashidi, F. (2019) · Risk Management and Healthcare Policy · doi:10.2147/rmhp.s198375 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Rong, X., Yin, J., Duan, S., Sun, Q., & Babar, Z. (2020) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-020-08746-x · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Yang, C., Cai, W., Li, Z., Page, A. T., & Fang, Y. (2018) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0205238 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Self-citationDong, J., Gao, Y., Liu, Y., & Yang, X. (2023) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0284528 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Shukar, S., Zahoor, F., Omer, S., Ejaz, S., Yang, C., & Fang, Y. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph192316373 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Self-citationOmer, S., Pan, M., Ali, S., Shukar, S., Fang, Y., & Yang, C. (2021) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-050196 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Self-citationThe impact of drug shortages on drug prices: evidence from China
Hu, S., Zhang, J., Li, J., Zhang, J., Pan, M., Xiang, C., Dave, C. V., Yang, C., & Fang, Y. (2023) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1185356 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Self-citationWang, W., Qiu, L., Sa, R., Dang, S., Liu, F., & Xiao, X. (2021) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-021-11405-4 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Pricing Problems in the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain with Mixed Channel: A Power Perspective
Yang, X., Liu, L., Zheng, Y., Yang, X., & Sun, S. (2022) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su14127420 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Hu, S., Chen, C., Yuan, S., Xue, F., Shi, L., Fang, Y., & Yang, C. (2019) · Frontiers in Pharmacology · doi:10.3389/fphar.2019.00950 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
“…ingredient for leukopenia, various heart diseases, chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, etc.) rose from 92 to 95 RMB/kg in early 2015 to 600 RMB/kg in July 2018 (Zhan, 2018), and the price of raw materials of nitroglycerin injection rose sharply, almost tripled from 2015 to 2018 (Sina Finance, 2019).”
BackgroundSelf-citationSupply Chain Management Perspective on Shortages in Drugs Sourcing
Baporikar, N., & Kaloia, D. S. (2020) · International Journal of Applied Logistics · doi:10.4018/ijal.2020070104 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Zhao, M., Gillani, A. H., Ji, D., Feng, Z., Fang, Y., & Yang, C. (2021) · Frontiers in Pharmacology · doi:10.3389/fphar.2021.621307 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Self-citationDrug supply and assurance: a cross-sectional study of drug shortage monitoring varieties in China
Lan, Y., Lin, X., Chen, Q., Wang, L., Sun, L., & Huang, Z. (2024) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-024-19361-5 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“A study of Shaanxi Province, China, concluded that in 2016, there were shortages in the supply of 8 traditional Chinese medicines and 87 biological products and chemicals in the province [16].”
BackgroundWang, P., Cheng, L., Li, Y., Zhang, Y., Huang, W., Li, S., Wang, Z., Shan, L., Jiao, M., & Wu, Q. (2023) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-023-15993-1 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“demand, production costs, drug transportation, hospital management, and doctors’ habits [50].”
BackgroundGuan, X., Yang, M., Man, C., Tian, Y., & Shi, L. (2018) · The International Journal of Health Planning and Management · doi:10.1002/hpm.2537 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Trends of drug shortages in China from 2018 to 2020: A retrospective observational study
Huang, T., Bai, L., Li, H., Li, H., Wang, Z., Shi, L., & Guan, X. (2024) · Journal of Global Health · doi:10.7189/jogh.14.04225 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Roe, H. S., Ko, D. E., Nam, S. Y., Oh, J. E., Park, S. M., Lee, S. H., & Lee, J. H. (2026) · Frontiers in Pharmacology · doi:10.3389/fphar.2025.1608843 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Jenzer, H., Groesser, S. N., & Miljković, N. (2023) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-20298-8_3 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
He, H., Zhan, Y., Huo, B., Zhang, Y., & Shi, X. (2025) · Transportation Research Part E Logistics and Transportation Review · doi:10.1016/j.tre.2025.104225 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Thought Bubbles: A Proxy into Players’ Mental Model Development
Mohaddesi, O., Chicoine, N., Gong, M., Ergün, Ö., Griffin, J. A., Kaeli, D. R., Marsella, S., & Harteveld, C. (2023) · CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/3544548.3581570 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Antwi, H. A., Paixao, T. L. A., & Antwi, M. O. (2021) · International Journal of Scientific Research in Science Engineering and Technology · doi:10.32628/ijsrset218446 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Yi, Q., Yang, N., Zeng, L., Huang, L., Zou, K., Chen, J.-J., Luo, J., Zhang, M., Diao, S., Yu, Q., et al. (2026) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-026-26834-2 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“Upon confirmation of a shortage, facilities are required to conduct an immediate stock assessment, estimating coverage duration to guide allocation decisions [21, 23, 30, 55].”
Shortage of antiseizure medication in Germany: How big is the problem?
Steidl, J., Krebs, S., Kostev, K., Schwab, S., & Hamer, H. M. (2024) · Epilepsy & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2024.110162 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“In addition, this study was conducted during the Covid pandemic, during which there was a high level of drug shortages [18] and an increase of ASM prescriptions before lockdowns [19].”
da Silva, É. T., Amorim, F., Júnior, E. A. C., & Barros, I. (2018) · Revista Brasileira de Farmácia Hospitalar e Serviços de Saúde · doi:10.30968/rbfhss.2018.091.007 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“Fact ratified by the study of Yang et al. (2016), which states that one of the major reasons for bidders’ lack of interest is a combination of weak demand and low prices.”
BackgroundTo Trust or to Stockpile: Modeling Human-Simulation Interaction in Supply Chain Shortages
Mohaddesi, O., Griffin, J. A., Ergün, Ö., Kaeli, D. R., Marsella, S., & Harteveld, C. (2022) · CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/3491102.3502089 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“On the other hand, the literature around drug shortages points to insufficient information sharing among different stakeholders in pharmaceutical supply chains [81], and that we can mitigate much of the workload associated with managing shortages in such supply chains by increasing collaboration and sharing informatio…”
BackgroundNyika, A., Ngara, B., Mutingwende, I., & Gwaza, L. (2022) · BMC Health Services Research · doi:10.1186/s12913-022-07995-3 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“Medicines shortages can also be caused by changes in pharmaceutical manufacturers’ marketing strategy, supply chain challenges, unexpected surges in demand, production-related issues, global pandemics such as Ebola and Covid-19, and natural disasters such as cyclones, among others [22, 23, 26].”
BackgroundSharma, R. K., Kumari, M., & Baxi, D. R. (2026) · Journal of Public Health Research · doi:10.1177/22799036261418439 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“The type of medical shortages identified in this study aligned with findings from earlier research projects in Pakistan, 30 China, 31 and Europe.”
Zhu, Y., Ren, Y., Wang, H., Fang, W., Xu, X., Wang, Y., Dai, H., & Li, X. (2021) · The International Journal of Health Planning and Management · doi:10.1002/hpm.3395 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Contemporary Perspective on Supply Chain Management Regarding Drug Sourcing Shortages
Baporikar, N. (2021) · Advances in logistics, operations, and management science book series · doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-8709-6.ch010 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Drug Shortages and Its Effects on Service Delivery among Key Informants (KIs) in Fiji
Raikabakaba, A., Mohammadnezhad, M., Tamani, L., & Gaundan, D. (2022) · Global Journal of Health Science · doi:10.5539/gjhs.v14n5p1 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“Similarly, a study in Shaanxi Province, China also reported that the most group of drugs affected were antimicrobials and cardiovascular drugs (Yang et al., 2016).”
ResultLan, Y., Meng, C., Sun, L.-H., & Huang, Z. (2024) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0305383 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“More and more studies and practices have shown that adequate drug stockpiling is an important means of preventing drug shortages and ensuring a stable supply of drugs [9–13].”
BackgroundYap, W. S., Cheong, W. L., & Yeap, L. (2026) · Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice · doi:10.1080/20523211.2026.2701922 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“In hospitals in the Shaanxi province in China, procurement staff were reported to lack practical experience (Yang et al., 2016).”
Opinions of pharmacists in Turkiye on drug shortages and effects on treatment
ÇALIKUŞU, M., & Özçelikay, G. (2024) · Hacettepe University Journal of the Faculty of Pharmacy · doi:10.52794/hujpharm.1306922 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Tackling Drug Shortages: An In-Depth Systematic Review Protocol
Alshammari, M. K., Alraya, R. A., Aljabri, A. K., Alsaadi, B., Althubyani, M. M., Alamri, S., Alqarni, A., Alenazi, Y. M., Almutairi, A., Alshehri, A., et al. (2025) · Pharmacy Practice · doi:10.18549/pharmpract.2025.2.3176
“Unlike HICs, LMICs encounter multiple new factors contributing to the commencement of drug shortages 18 .”
Multicenter evaluation of IV acyclovir use prior to, during, and after a national shortage*
McLaughlin, M. M., Carreno, J. J., Harpe, S. E., Jensen, A. O., Lomaestro, B. M., & Esterly, J. S. (2017) · Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases · doi:10.1080/23744235.2017.1325002
“Differences may also be related to cultural differences such as the use of traditional medicines in China which have been reported to be on shortage [7].”
BackgroundIntended and Unintended Consequences of Drug Price RegulationsPreprint
Li, J., & Wu, D. (2018) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3252607
Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice Research: A Review of Studies in China
Yang, C., Saeed, A., Hayat, K., Lambojon, K., Gillani, A. H., & Fang, Y. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-15-2724-1_11
Self-citationLópez, L., & Stefany, J. (2021)
Drug Shortages in South-Western China: A Regional Multi-Source Reporting Data AnalysisPreprint
Bo, Z., Tang, Y. B., Li, H., Zou, K., Diao, S., Han, L., Shi, Y., Zeng, L., Zhao, S., Jiang, Y., et al. (2023) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.4569792
WITHDRAWN: Post-Brexit implications: Review of marketing authorisations in Malta
Patrocinio, Y. A. P., Szijj, J. V., Serracino‐Inglott, A., & Azzopardi, L. M. (2024) · Health Policy OPEN · doi:10.1016/j.hpopen.2024.100118
RetractedAtif, M., Sehar, A., Malik, I., Mushtaq, I., Ahmad, N., & Babar, Z.-U.-D. (2021) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.15184538
Lan, Y., Lin, X., Chen, Q., Wang, L., Sun, L., & Huang, Z. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26756083
Additional file 1 of Drug shortages in China: a cross-sectional study
Song, Y., Li, J., Zhao, F., & Jin, P. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26587110
Atif, M., Sehar, A., Malik, I., Mushtaq, I., Ahmad, N., & Babar, Z.-U.-D. (2021) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.15184541
Stakeholder Perspectives on the Structural Causes of Drug Shortages in Korea: A Mixed-Methods Study
Kim, C., Park, E., & Kim, D. (2026) · International Journal of Health Policy and Management · doi:10.34172/ijhpm.9451
“16 However, large-scale empirical evidence suggests that the relationship between medicine price levels and drug shortages is not straightforward.”
Lee, S.-B., Song, I., Heo, Y., & Kim, D. (2026) · doi:10.2196/preprints.113567
- Authors
- Yang, C., Wu, L., Cai, W., Zhu, W., Shen, Q., Li, Z., & Fang, Y.
- Affiliations
- Xi'an Jiaotong University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Fang, Yu
- Venue
- PLOS ONE
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Published
- 2016-10-25
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- e0165183
- ISSN
- 1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5079602
- OpenAlex
- W2533738919
- Cited by
- 70
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 3
- FWCI
- 11.68
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (71503197, 71473192)
- China Medical Board Open Competition Research Program (14-196)
- Young Talent Support Plan
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Pharmaceutical Quality and Counterfeiting
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Management Information Systems › Supply Chain and Inventory Management
- Keywords
- drug shortages, Shaanxi, traditional Chinese medicine, biologicals, essential medicines, drug pricing, market demand, good manufacturing practices, pharmaceutical supply chain, hospital inventory management, pharmaceutical wholesalers, hospital pharmacists
- MeSH terms
- China, Drug Industry, Pharmaceutical Preparations, Humans, Risk Factors, Drug Costs, Qualitative Research
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
