Nov. 07--Hospitals and pharmacies around the region are continuing to struggle to stay abreast of the ongoing, ever-changing drug shortages that have plagued the nation over the last few years.
The Food and Drug Administration reports the number of shortages has almost tripled in the last five years, going from 61 in 2005 to 178 in 2010.
Many of the shortages involved drugs administered by sterile injection, including cancer drugs and antibiotics, according to the FDA.
About 43 percent of the shortages were caused by problems at manufacturing facilities, while shipping or manufacturing delays caused about 15 percent of shortages. Ingredient shortages were to blame in about 10 percent of cases.
In late October, President Barack Obama signed an executive order telling the FDA to speed reviews that can help address or prevent shortages and expand the reporting of possible shortages.
Around the same time, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey co-sponsored legislation that would allow the FDA to require early notification from drug companies when certain factors arise that would make a shortage likely. The bill also would force the FDA to provide information about drug shortages to the public and to announce what steps are being taken to address shortages.
Casey spokeswoman April Mellody said the senator has heard from constituents and hospital officials about the ongoing shortages.
"It's an immediate threat to people's lives," she said, adding the bill Mr. Casey is co-sponsoring "will put in place measures that can begin addressing the issue."
Pharmacy officials at several local hospitals said they have been coping with ongoing shortages of certain drugs used during surgery, emergency room medications and painkillers.
Further complicating matters is that shortages are constantly shifting, pharmacists said. Drugs that are plentiful now may be in short supply in a few months.
"My purchaser is ready to pull her hair out," said Michele Musheno, director of Moses Taylor Hospital's pharmacy. "It takes her hours every day to see what we need, who has it and then be first on the list for orders."
Both Ms. Musheno and David Rowlands, director of Community Medical Center's pharmacy, said shortages have not forced their hospitals to cancel or delay any procedures. Often, pharmacists will work with medical staff to find acceptable substitutions or borrow from other local hospitals when supplies run low on certain medications.
For instance, Ms. Musheno said, her hospital has had trouble getting the drug Levaquin, which is used to treat pneumonia. Instead, they began using two other drugs, Cipro and Avelox, to treat those patients.
Some local pharmacies are also having trouble keeping an adequate supply of specific prescription drugs. Lori Hart, pharmacist and owner of Sheeley's Drug Store in downtown Scranton, said she has had increasing difficulty in keeping an adequate supply of Adderall, used to treat attention deficit disorder, and a steroid called Medrol, used to treat allergies and back pain.
Ms. Hart said she and other pharmacists will call doctors to see if there can be a substitution made if they are running low of a particular drug.
"We're stocking up as much as possible," she said. "It seems like there's always something that is difficult to get."
Contact the writer: enissley@timesshamrock.com
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