Shortages of drugs, particularly cheap, generic injectable drugs, have escalated since 2005. The scarce drugs include the workhorses of hospitals, outpatient surgery centers and cancer clinics: antibiotics, painkillers, anesthesia and sedatives for surgery, chemotherapy and heart drugs. Recently, there’s a serious shortage of intravenous fluids and nutrients, including simple saline solution, needed for patients too ill to eat or drink.
via Hospitals coping better as drug shortages persist – Tulsa World: Business.