Methodology

How Branmoor sources, processes, and presents data — and the limits of what we publish.

Drug Shortage Tracker

Primary source

All shortage records on Branmoor's Drug Shortage Tracker come from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Drug Shortages database, accessed via the openFDA Drug Shortages API (api.fda.gov/drug/shortages.json).

Update cadence

We re-pull the full shortage feed every 4 to 6 hours. The "Last refreshed" timestamp on each tracker page reflects the most recent successful pull. FDA's own posting cadence is irregular: most records are updated weekly, some daily during active shortages, others only when a manufacturer files new information.

Normalization rules

• Raw FDA records are deduplicated to one page per (substance, dosage form, brand) combination, keeping the record with the most recent update date.
• Substance and brand names are normalized to title case for display; original FDA strings are preserved in the page metadata.
• FDA's status field is used as the canonical state. Statuses include "Current" (active shortage), "To Be Discontinued" (manufacturer-announced discontinuation), and "Resolved" (FDA marked as resolved).
• Where FDA reports a shortage reason or related narrative, we reproduce it verbatim. We do not paraphrase or editorialize manufacturer-reported reasons.

What we do not do

• We do not generate clinical content with language models. Drug pages are template-driven directly from FDA data.
• We do not suggest therapeutic alternatives, dosing, or substitutions. Those decisions belong to a clinician with knowledge of an individual patient.
• We do not validate FDA records against secondary sources. If FDA's database is wrong, Branmoor will be wrong too.

Affiliate disclosure

Pages may contain affiliate links — most commonly to GoodRx for current pharmacy pricing and to Amazon for related over-the-counter products. Affiliate links are labeled inline. Branmoor receives a small commission on qualifying actions taken through these links. Affiliate revenue does not affect which drugs we track or how we present them — coverage follows the FDA feed.

Medical disclaimer

Content on Branmoor is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a licensed clinician or pharmacist with any questions about a medical condition or medication. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you read on this site.

Corrections

If you spot a normalization error or a stale record on Branmoor that differs from the current FDA database, please email corrections@branmoor.com with the page URL and the discrepancy.