Drug Shortage Worries the Medical Community, Calls for Emergency Action

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The survey was conducted from July to September 2010, and 1,800 healthcare practitioners participated, 68 percent of whom were pharmacists.

Drug Shortage Worries the Medical Community, Calls for Emergency ActionJen Blackstock
Nov 27, 2010

The newest threat to patient health may not be the flu or other epidemics. It could be a major shortage of prescription drugs. The shortage has reached the level of a "national public health crisis," according to a survey conducted by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) this summer. Survey respondents said shortages in the past year were "the worst ever, without a glimmer of hope for any improvement in the near future."

The survey was conducted from July to September 2010, and 1,800 healthcare practitioners participated, 68 percent of whom were pharmacists. According to the ISMP,? the respondents "feel unsupported by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and perplexed regarding why the US is experiencing drug shortages of epic proportion that are often associated with third-world countries. Respondents clearly believe the public is severely impacted by this issue, and several suggest that the problem has risen to the level of a national public health crisis."

Thirty-five percent of the respondents reported that their facility had experienced a near miss during the past year due to a medication suddenly not being available. Also of concern was the need to use less desirable, often expensive, unfamiliar alternative drugs-if even available. The use of alternative medicines has led to delayed treatment times for many patients, as doctors and pharmacists scrambled to find alternatives. Several respondents expressed concern over the lack of advanced warning about an impending shortage, as well as precious clinical hours lost to time-consuming activities required to manage drug shortages.

Especially troubling to survey respondents was that many of the drugs involved in the shortages are high-alert medications, such as propofol, heparin, epinephrine, morphine, neuromuscular blocking agents, chemotherapy, 50% dextrose, and parenteral electrolyte supplements. Many other drugs not on high alert but in short supply are essential and lifesaving, such as antibiotics, IV fat emulsion, and fosphenytoin.?

The results of this survey have sparked a call to action. The ISMP has partnered with the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists (ASHP). The newly assembled taskforce met Friday, November 5, 2010, at the Drug Shortages Summit in Bethesda, Maryland. Representatives from the FDA and pharmaceutical manufacturers were slated to join.

"Healthcare professionals are most alarmed by the increasing volume of medications in short supply, use of unfamiliar alternative drugs, and the potential for errors, poor patient outcomes, or preventable adverse drug events," said ISMP President Michael Cohen, RPh, MS, ScD, FASHP.? "Stakeholders in the process will need to develop a strategic plan aimed at reducing the occurrence of shortages, ensuring more effective FDA oversight, and creating a comprehensive early warning system."

***

Sources:

Institute for Safe Medication Practices?

Pharmacy Times?

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Program For Young Students Increases Interest In College Attendance And Medical Careers

Main Category: Medical Students / Training
Also Included In: Respiratory / Asthma;??Diabetes;??Heart Disease
Article Date: 19 Nov 2010 - 0:00 PST window.fbAsyncInit = function() { FB.init({ appId: 'aa16a4bf93f23f07eb33109d5f1134d3', status: true, cookie: true, xfbml: true, channelUrl: 'http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/scripts/facebooklike.html'}); }; (function() { var e = document.createElement('script'); e.async = true; e.src = document.location.protocol + '//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js'; document.getElementById('fb-root').appendChild(e); }()); email to a friend ? printer friendly ? opinions ?

Two new studies have shown that a unique program in East Harlem that helps middle school students learn practical health skills and gain a better understanding of medical conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension, resulted in increased interest in college attendance and medical careers among the students who attended the program. The results were presented at the American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting this month in Denver.

The MedStart Summer Enrichment Program was created in the summer of 2009 by Edward Chu and Melissa Schneiderman, two third-year medical students at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The free, one-week summer program is offered to East Harlem middle-school students who are interested in science and medicine, or who would benefit from a more interactive approach to learning. MedStart provides the participants with CPR and First Aid certification, and teaches them practical skills, such as how to take a pulse, and measure blood pressure. The program also provides transit passes, lunch, T-shirts, and trophies, at no cost to the students, for completing the program.

"East Harlem has one of the highest rates of asthma, diabetes, and obesity in all of New York City," said Chu. "We started the MedStart program because there was a significant unmet need for health care education among the youth of East Harlem about these diseases. A large number of medical students, residents, and faculty members were willing to dedicate time to help address this need, and MedStart was our solution."

The research team behind MedStart evaluated the impact of the program and presented the results at the APHA meeting. One study evaluated the impact of student attitudes toward science and medical careers before and after the program. Thirty-eight students completed the pre-program survey and 37 completed the post-survey. At the conclusion of the program, there was a 31 percent increase in students who were "very interested" in science, a 23 percent increase in students who were "very interested" in a career in the medical field, and a 13 percent increase in students who thought it was important to attend college.

A second study evaluated improvement in student knowledge of diseases prevalent in their community - asthma, diabetes, obesity, and heart disease - by surveying 39 students before and after the program. Comparing the students' pre-camp survey and post-camp survey performance, we found that their scores increased by an average of 26.5 percent. The majority of students previously were unaware of the high prevalence of these diseases in their community.

"These results demonstrate that the MedStart program improves middle school perceptions of health and science, encouraging them to someday consider careers in these fields," said Stephanie H. Factor, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine and faculty advisor for MedStart. "MedStart also educates these students at a critical time in their lives about prevalent diseases in the East Harlem community. The measurable impact of this program shows that it should be replicated in communities around the country."

Additional Mount Sinai authors on the studies include Lucy Chen, Julia Chen, Greg Serrao, Latanya Phelps, PhD, Ann-Gel S. Palermo, Jonatan Hernandez Rosa, Daniel Sanchez, Andrew Weissman, PhD, Stephanie H. Factor, MD, Romit Bhattacharya, and Samantha Zuckerman.

Source:
Mount Sinai Press Office
The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine

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Diabetes And Peripheral Artery Disease Are Costly; PAD May Spur Growth In Medical Device Industry

Main Category: Diabetes
Also Included In: Medical Devices / Diagnostics;??Vascular
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Diabetes and peripheral artery disease cost billions each year in medical expenses.

USA Today: Diabetes cases in the U.S. are expected to double or triple by 2050, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report, published in the journal Population Health Metrics, says that "one in 10 U.S. adults have diabetes now. The prevalence is expected to rise sharply over the next 40 years with as many as one in three having the disease, primarily type 2 diabetes." Experts attribute the rise to early diagnosis, people living longer with diabetes, and "growing populations of minority groups such as African Americans and Hispanics, who are more at risk for the disease. But an increasing number of overweight Americans also is fueling the stark predictions for diabetes, which should be taken seriously, Albright says." The current cost of diabetes is estimated by the CDC to be at $174 billion annually, "$116 billion of which is in direct medical costs." That expense may double in the next 20 years, according to David Kendall, chief scientific and medical officer of the American Diabetes Association. Health experts say better school meal options and physical education programs should be a priority (Marcus, 10/22).

The (Minneapolis) Star Tribune: "Heart attacks below the belt," also known as peripheral artery disease (PAD), account for $21 billion a year in hospitalizations, according to a recent University of Minnesota study funded by drugmakers Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb. "More than 8 million Americans suffer from PAD -- a number that's expected to rise as baby boomers age. ... Treatments range from drugs to surgery to stents that prop open clogged arteries, as well as lasers and drills that bust up hardened plaque." Given the complex nature of PAD treatment, the market for related medical technology is estimated at $3.4 billion, according to an industry analyst - "one of the most-promising in medical technology." Companies are scrambling "to prove their product is the best treatment in the wake of escalating health care costs and the advent of health care reform, which calls for more comparative-effectiveness research" (Moore, 10/21).

This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org.

ⓒ Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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