Actually, we were discussing this yesterday at the pharmacy and therapeutics committee meeting of the University Health Network.
They try to plan in advance for what they know about shortages coming down the pipeline. If they have anything less than a one-month supply of product, they consider that there may be a potential shortage, so they go looking for alternative suppliers. If they can't find alternative suppliers, then we come up with a plan of what we can substitute for drugs that may be in short supply, or we ask departments in the hospital that are heavy users of those products to consider limiting them or switching to alternatives.