Medical Product Shortages in the United States: Demographic and Geographic Factors and Impacts

• Medical product shortages are an ongoing public health concern, with at least 140 products in shortage as of July 2024.
• We use the Household Pulse Survey to examine how many adults are affected by shortages of critical medical products in the United States.
• In fall 2023, shortages of medical products impacted about 38.8 million (18 percent) of individuals in the United States.
• Nearly half of those impacted by a shortage reported delaying or stopping use because a product was not available; 32 percent and 24 percent reported negative mental health and physical health effects, respectively.
• These results highlight the real-world impact of shortages on patients and the importance of identifying new strategies to prevent shortages and mitigate the impact of shortages when they occur

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