Link: https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2022/09/16/drug-shortages-lorazepam-cancer/6681663190912/
Excerpt:
Adderall and monkeypox vaccine represent only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to drugs now in short supply in the United States — some badly needed by patients who are seriously ill with life-threatening diseases.
Pharmacists tell UPI of scrambling to meet patients’ urgent needs amid current shortages ranging from basics like sterile water and saline to antibiotics, sedatives and cancer-fighting medications.
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As of Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration reported 184 drug shortages nationwide. The Association of Health-System Pharmacists put the figure higher, tracking a scarcity of 210 drugs.
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Conserving the supply of a drug once healthcare providers know it’s going to become scarce may include setting guidelines for the medication’s use and rationing doses, the Association of Health-System Pharmacists’ Ganio said.
That occurred this spring after GE Healthcare shuttered its facility in China that makes injectable contrast solutions used to highlight CT scan image because of local COVID-19 policies.
“As of now, that shortage has been fixed. But the underlying fragility of the system continues … and there is no reason it couldn’t happen again,” Dr. Matthew Davenport, vice chair of the American College of Radiology’s Commission on Quality and Safety, told UPI in a recent phone interview.
Author(s): Judy Packer-Tursman
Publication Date: 16 Sept 2022
Publication Site: UPI