The surge in prescription-drug prices is hitting hard in hospitals, as well as for individual consumers, says a report by the American Hospital Association and the Federation of American Hospitals.

“With these drug prices so far outpacing the Consumer Price Index, hospitals are struggling to come up with trade-offs to preserve access to affordable care for our patients,”  Scott Knoer, the Cleveland Clinic’s chief pharmacy officer, told a press briefing held by the  two groups.

The report said that on a per-admission basis, hospital spending on drugs jumped nearly 39 percent, to $990 in 2013-15.

STAT, a health sector news site affiliated with The Boston Globe, reported:

“{T}he increase in prices outpaced reimbursement rates from payers, retail spending on medicines, and the pharmaceutical price inflation calculated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The survey found that more than 90 percent of the hospitals surveyed  said that the soaring prices for inpatient drugs had a moderate or severe effect on managing costs.”

To read the STAT story, please hit this link.