STATNEWS: As demand surges, half of prescriptions needed for Covid-19 patients on ventilators are go
[link:https://www.statnews.com/pharmalot/2020/04/15/covid19-coronavirus-ventilators-drug-shortages/|
As the pandemic continues to spread across the U.S., orders for medicines needed for Covid-19 patients who are placed on ventilators are being filled and shipped to hospitals only 53% of the time, down from 72% last month, according to new data.
The decline reflects surging demand for more than a dozen sedatives, anesthetics, painkillers, and muscle relaxants, which have been in short supply. The findings raise the possibility that it could become more difficult for health care providers to place these patients on ventilators, because the drugs are used to help manage pain and comfort levels while a patient is on mechanical ventilation.
The overall demand for these drugs rose 87% from January to March alone, but rose a whopping 213% from January to April. Taken together, the data indicates the need for the medicines remains exceedingly strong and shortages are likely to persist.
“We can’t lose sight that ventilators, and the medications necessary for those patients, is a 1:1 equation,” said Dan Kistner, group senior vice president, pharmacy solutions at Vizient, a group purchasing organization that negotiates contracts for medicines on behalf of about 3,000 hospitals and health care facilities in the U.S., which provided the data. “And demand isn’t going away,” he added.
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