Quote:With prescription drug shortages happening in the United States on and off for the last decade, deficits are at an all-time high—a reality that makes treatment decisions difficult for doctors and affects patients in need of critical drugs like chemotherapy and antibiotics, Johns Hopkins experts said Friday during a virtual discussion as part of the Johns Hopkins Congressional Briefing series.

Creating stockpiles of critical drugs can help, too. But right now, no agency in the U.S. has the power to do that. "We just don't have the structure to deal with a problem this complex," he said.