Virus Drug Hoarding Prompts Calls for Accessible Data, Supplies

Protecting existing patients in the next rush to buy up a promising Covid-19 treatment may require a national database of drug supplies and more reporting requirements to stave off hoarding.

The fractured federal response to the pandemic has pitted facilities against each other for medicines and supplies, say supply chain specialists, doctors and policy analysts. When new research promotes a drug as a treatment for the virus, orders for it skyrocket, according to Soumi Saha, director of advocacy at Premier Inc., a policy and research group that connects over 4,000 hospitals across the country.

Hydroxychloroquine prescriptions spiked 135% during March ...