A Wall Street Journal article (1 February 2011) cites 178 drugs in short supply in 2010, requiring hospitals to scramble to find alternate drugs, new sources of supply etc.  These alternative treatments that ncrease costs or require approvals of untested treatments or new sources of expensive supply.  The industry claims that manufacturing rules and ingredient supply bottlenecks are to blame. But industry consolidation, better enforcement of manufacturing standards and longer approvals times are also listed as culprits. A Senate bill would require manufacturers to “contact the FDA as soon as they sense a supply shortage”, according to the article.  Would such rules align the interests of manufacturers with consumers ? Does it make sense for a manufacturer to offer up a market to a competitor or would pricing changes enable solution of such supply demand mismatches ?  In short, will such shortages require doctors to anticipate supply chain issues when prescribing treatments ?