Obama Order Targets Drug Price ‘Gouging,’ Easing Shortages

Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama directed U.S.regulators to gather information from drugmakers about potentialshortages so the government can respond before patients’ livesare threatened and help prosecutors head off “price gouging.”

More than half of hospitals and medical centers said lastyear that shortages compromised patient care, according to asurvey from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, aBethesda, Maryland-based trade group. About 97 percent said theshortages drove up costs through purchases from resellers.