FDA Launches Free Drug Shortage App

Worried about potential drug shortages? There's an app for that.

Pharmacists and other health care professionals concerned about drug shortages now have a new resource they can utilize, thanks to a free mobile app launched today by the FDA.

Users of the agency’s “DrugShortage” app can search or browse by a drug name, active ingredient, or therapeutic category to access information about drug shortages and product discontinuations. They can also use the app to report suspected drug shortages or supply issues to the FDA.

The app was developed as part of an effort to make drug shortage information more easily accessible to health care professionals, according to an FDA press release.

“The FDA understands that health care professionals and pharmacists need real-time information about drug shortages to make treatment decisions,” said Valerie Jensen, associate director of the Drug Shortage Staff in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, in a press release. “The new mobile app is an innovative tool that will offer easier and faster access to important drug shortage information.”

The app, the first to be created by the FDA, can be found on Apple and Android devices by searching “FDA Drug Shortages,” after which it can be download for free.