Medication shortages?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I keep randomly seeing small things about important medications being in short supply but I haven't heard it from any doc or nurse. Plus I think if we had a shortage of crucial meds it'd be a big thing in the news. Although I may just be out of the loop since I'm a new grad and haven't started working yet. Does anyone know about these shortages and how serious they are? http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/15/10407853-amid-shortages-rules-force-hospitals-to-trash-scarce-drugs

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

The shortages are real,even though some are made to happen by decreasing production to cause the shortage. They are as fabricated as any other "shortage" which is used inflate the cost to the patient to increase their profit margins.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, ER.

What Esme said. Right now we are critically short on Ativan, Zofran, Propofol, Morphine 2mg and Compazine.

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Specializes in Pedi.

I know there are critical shortages of IV Ativan and Methotrexate currently. There was a shortage of IV Dexamethasone last year. There are several articles out there about the Methotrexate shortage and it's something of huge concern to the medical community because of its importance in treating ALL. At my institution, pharmacy has repackaged our Ativan vials... they come from the manufacturer as 2 mg/1 mL vials and pharmacy has repackaged them into 1 mg/0.5 mL vials.

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There are shortages of Fentanyl, IV magnesium, Zofran and several others at my hospital. The pharmacy e-newsletter lets everyone know that we have less than 2 weeks supply of various drugs, and gives alternatives as recommendations to our doctors.

A local compounding pharmacy is supplying our Fentanyl, and I have been giving a lot magnesium orally instead of IV.

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Specializes in Emergency.

Plenty of ativan, iv zofran is reserved for hyperemesis, non preg related intractable vomiting, ams/inability to manage zofran odt.

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Specializes in Burns, ICU, Plastic Surgery.

At my hospital recent shortages have been with Ativan, Fentanyl, Versed, and most recently Toradol.

Edit: Here is the whole list from the FDA:http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/DrugShortages/ucm050792.htm

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Specializes in SNU/SNF/MedSurg, SPCU Ortho/Neuro/Spine.

Ativan 2 mg vials, Reglan IV, Toradol 30mg vials, Nasal B12 spray, Dilaudid 1 mg ampoles are some of the ones I have encountered.

All things we use on post op people!

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Specializes in private duty/home health, med/surg.

God forbid there's a shortage of all forms of IV Dilaudid... I think our patient population would suddenly drop!

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Specializes in Trauma, ER, ICU, CCU, PACU, GI, Cardiology, OR.

OMG I hope that Chlorpromazine, Haloperidol, Flufenazine, Astromorph, is not in that list, without these the hospital were I work couldn't function:uhoh3:

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Specializes in tele, oncology.

Currently at my facility it's IV Reglan and Azactam.

And yep, it's a bit of a deal...we've had pharmacists in my area trying to draw attention to it for months now in the local media to no avail.

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