Morton should go into the pharmaceutical business -- STAT!
Posted on 06/27/2014 4:27:49 AM PDT by SoFloFreeper
Hospitals across the country are struggling to deal with a shortage of one of their essential medical supplies. Manufacturers are rationing saline — a product used all over the hospital to clean wounds, mix medications and treat dehydration. Now drug companies say they won’t be able to catch up with demand until next year.
...“The Most Expensive Drug Shortage in History”
The burden ultimately falls on hospitals, clinics, and dialysis centers to come up with their own workarounds. And all that staff time adds up. Hospitals spend $216 million a year on the labor costs of managing drug shortages, according to Erin Fox, a professor at the University of Utah College of Pharmacy.
Now that the industry has indicated the saline shortage will extend through the end of the year, Fox estimates this will be the most expensive drug shortage in history....
(Excerpt) Read more at pbs.org ...
Yes, and the advantage to cocout water is it also goes well with rum.
;^)
CC
One often finds them lining the bottom of bird cages in pet cages. I hear something called NYT is preferred.
A SALT WATER shortage?
What’s is the saying about economic policies that could create a sand shortage in the Sahara Desert?
Let's not forget price controls.
In the absence of price controls, if there was a momentary shortage, a manufacturer would tell employees "We're ramping up a bit. Expect to work some overtime", and raise prices a bit to cover the added expense. If they can't raise prices, the attitude becomes "Here's what we have. Use it wisely".
So that’s what that stuff is. Gives a whole new slant on muckraking.
Morton should go into the pharmaceutical business -- STAT!
That would be Milton Friedman...
“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years there'd be a shortage of sand.”
So to update; we just need to change Sahara Desert to Healthcare; and sand to saline solution!
Yes. There is a limited supply of helium. The price of helium is kept artificially low because of government policies and stockpiling dating from WWI. (For use in airships) There are very few sources of He, and once released to the atmosphere, it's absolutely not recoverable using any technology we have.
It is a critical resource in current medical tech. I don't know if there is anything else that will work as a substitute. I suspect once the price inevitably skyrockets, there will be incentive to find something else to take its place. From what I understand, HE is one of the most plentiful elements in the universe, but because it is a noble gas, you're not going to find it on Earth in the kind of quantities we'd like.
I was meaning the saline shortage might be a manufactured shortage. Thanks for the update on the helium.
Looks like more of a supply and demand issue to me. Saline is a low margin item. Manufacturing capacity is geared to meeting current demand. If demand spikes there is no way to increase supply on short notice. Couple that with manufacturing lines being down for maintenance, quality issues, recalls, and there's no mystery to it.
Looks like more of a supply and demand issue to me. Saline is a low margin item. Manufacturing capacity is geared to meeting current demand. If demand spikes there is no way to increase supply on short notice. Couple that with manufacturing lines being down for maintenance, quality issues, recalls, and there's no mystery to it. Plus this has been in the news for six months or more.
Yeah, it’s all a plot.
I just don’t want to see a China or India label on the bag.
they've been in it for years... it's called UPS or Ultra Purified Salt and that is what goes into saline and other pharmaceuticals
Many folks would be amazed at how much salt is consumed in this country. One of my relatives makes his living as a truck driver -- hauling 18-wheeler loads of salt for food processors -- and they keep him hopping...
we have two salt plants here in the Glen, US Salt and Cargill, and they sell salt to EVERYBODY... they simply put different labels on the containers that being said, the salt vein runs from here all the way to Louisiana
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.