January 7, 2019; Business Insider
Sometimes, we just want to ask, “Nonprofit for whom? Exactly who and what is meant to benefit from this?”
NPQ covered the launching of hospital-based drug production consortium Civica Rx in September 2018, noting then that a big part of the reasoning behind it was that it would be one way to address the sometimes-linked problems of drug scarcity and overpricing. The focus was on the needs of hospitals, in service of running more smoothly and at a lower cost. Though there seemed to be some attention paid to reducing the cost burden for patients, this was not the primary focus, nor are patients members of the new system.
Since then, the sponsoring group of medical systems and institutions has grown significantly, most recently adding 12 health systems and a total 250 additional hospitals to the venture. This brings the total number of hospitals involved to 750. But what will this do for patients, both when they are in hospital and thereafter?
The health systems most recently added include Illinois and Wisconsin-based Advocate Aurora Health, Michigan’s Spectrum Health, and NYU Langone Health. They join many others, including Catholic Health Initiatives, HCA Healthcare, Intermountain Healthcare, Mayo Clinic, and Providence St. Joseph Health, which serve as governing members.
The first 14 drugs Civica will produce are expected to be made available this year. They will include drugs on the FDA drug shortage list, which are in common use in hospitals