What the heck is happening to the drug supply in this country??? (VANITY)

2/29/2012 | Surrounded by blue

[surroundedbyblue]

I"m a nurse anesthetist, and I just got a work-related email from my boss. Basically it said "please conserve midazolam, fentanyl, morphine, and hydromorphone.....supplies are CRITICALLY short & the hospital is struggling to maintain supplies".

Um, ok. The last time I checked, this was the United States, not Crapistan. How are we "critically short" on all of the major anesthesia drugs that we use??? Am I supposed to offer the patient a bullet to bite?

Are there any FReepers out there who have ties to the pharm industry and can explain this? Speaking with others throughout the hospital, I have learned there are critical drug shortages in the ICU, ER, and oncology areas.

[Petruchio]

Those factors, combined with a low profit margin on some anesthetics, including Propofol, led Israel’s Teval Pharmaceutical Industries and Hospira Inc. of Lake Forest, Ill., to halt production . . .

The shortage of Propofol should ease up now that Michael Jackson ain't hoggin' the supply anymore.

[codder too]

My husband needs an MRI to diagnose a painful back problem. General practitioner says if he orders it they will probably deny . cost is about $1500 so only ‘specialists ‘ can order and ‘probably’ get it through. First appt available there is April 4. Long time to be in pain with something that can be remidied once we can SEE it.
Tomorrow I will call and see if anyone will do MTI asap if we pay cash, which we are fortunate enough to be able to do.. For anyone who doesn’t think Obama care is up and running. think again.

[Osage Orange]

Back in the day....your GP would recommend 2-3 weeks bed rest. And guess what? It would work.

I'm not a Doc. I'm not saying anything...And I've no idea what your situation is.

But there is some interesting data supporting the recommendation.

Good luck

[hedgetrimmer]

It is because of “free trade” that we have an unreliable and tainted pharmaceutical supply.

[EBH]

Current Drug Shortages according to the FDA

[FreedomPoster]

Like most complex things, and I suspect there is little more complex than national pharmaceutical production and distribution, there is no one single cause. But it seems the FDA under Obama is really making life difficult for pharma manufacturers, with unsurprising results.

This article from last year discusses the issue and has some links:

Regulation, The FDA, And Shortages Of Hospital Drugs
http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/regulation-the-fda-and-shortages-of-hospital-drugs/

And here is a current example of what the Cato article talks about:

Drug shortage feared after generics maker Sandoz suspends production
http://www.canada.com/Drug+shortage+feared+after+generics+maker+Sandoz+suspends+production/6176236/story.html

“Sandoz was forced to reduce production and begin upgrading its facilities after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cited it for various deficiencies relating to the safety and reliability of its production methods.”

Now everyone wants safe and efficacious meds. But it seems clear from reading news stories on this that the FDA has really upped their requirements, and with predictable effects. Well, predictable to anyone with a clue, which may not include FDA bureaucrats.

[FreedomPoster]

BTW, ping to the whole thread. Didn’t you used to be in pharma? Any comments?

[PA Engineer]

It’s part of a large healthcare system that’s quite profitable, despite it’s non-profit status.

Ah oh. Sounds like the dark side from across the river. ;-)

[surroundedbyblue]

Yep.....70% of my time is at the one for little people. The other 30% is in the urban centers - Mothership, Shadyside, the Catholic one, and the Womyn’s late-term abortion center

[Domestic Church]

What are the shortages in oncology?

[cherry]

I had my colonoscopy several weeks ago...without fentanyl....

you know how they always say "you won't feel a thing?"......not true when they have to use secondary drugs....

[cherry]

a few years ago, there was a shortage of solumedrol, a steroid....zofran(ondansetron) I hadn’t heard about...we use it like water....

[cherry]

for those who need a specialist....a neurologist or neurosurgeon, or gastroentrologist, etc...I’d almost suggest getting yourself to an ER and get admitted.....usually the specialist will try to see people in the hospital and you won’t have to wait the many weeks or months it takes to get in...

[dfwgator]

Keith Richards did all the drugs, there’s none left.

[cherry]

"Back in the day....your GP would recommend 2-3 weeks bed rest."

let me tell you.. back in the 1970'a.....we had a doc in Rome/Murphy Memorial that would have all of his back patients immediately get into a "90/90" position....laying flat in bed with several pillows under the knees and stay that way for a couple of days....

[Mom MD]

It’s just starting with Obama care. Drugs that are generic don’t sell for a lot of money. Combined with high liability it doesn’t pay to make them any more. Then add a partial shutdown of ant pharmaceutical site, or a batch of drugs held for quality control issues, and we have a critical shortage. Obama care is only going to worsen the situation plus take away the impetus to develop new drugs and therapies. Our president is rapidly turning us into a third world country

[vetvetdoug]

I have had problems obtaining cyclosporine, tetracycline, butorphanol, chlorpromazine, and several others as of late. Other drugs have had significant price increases (ie ophthalmics that were $1.50 per tube are now $31 per tube).

[khelus]

My Combivent is manufactured in Germany, while Dulera is manufactured in NJ by Merck (who is known to pay off politicians for favors)

I should have been more specific. The global supply chain for meds is very complex. Most chemical ingredients for inhalers (and many medications and supplements) are manufactured in India or China. The ultimate quality depends upon who puts the ingredients together, and who packages the finished product.

OTH many meds are manufactured in India and packaged in the US, then labeled product of the US.

[khelus]

Just in time medicine. Having supplies sitting on a shelf is no longer considered economically justified under the obama way of life.

The JIT (just in time) delivery is part of the movement to Globalism over the last couple of decades. It isn't just medication that is affected.

[khelus]

Nice summary of why we have the government that global corporations can buy.