Firefighters PANTS ON FIRE

Yup. Everyone is catching on. How many of y'all will it take to figure out that your lies are FUCKING STUPID???

Drug shortages worry Tampa Bay emergency medical providers
By Anne Lindberg, Times Staff WriterTampa Bay Times
In Print: Tuesday, December 27, 2011

A nationwide shortage of some lifesaving drugs has hit Tampa Bay emergency medical responders, forcing them to find other ways to care for their patients.

Paramedics regularly use many of the drugs to relieve pain, to help with a heart attack or to calm combative patients. So far, the EMS systems have been able to substitute one drug for another — for example, morphine instead of the painkiller fentanyl, which is in low supply.

The shortage is hitting especially hard in Pinellas, where most medications are back-ordered, EMS medical director Laurie Romig said. The problem is especially critical for pain relievers, sedatives and heart medications. Pinellas is down to its last doses of fentanyl. And Valium, used to calm combative patients and for seizures and pain management, is back-ordered.

"We're talking lifesaving drugs," Romig said. "I think it's going to get worse before it gets better."

Tampa and Hillsborough also are facing shortages of some commonly used medicines.

"It is problematic, yes, but it hasn't hit critical mass," said Nick loCicero, assistant chief of administration and rescue for Tampa Fire Rescue. "We're all in kind of the same boat."

The Tampa department has seen shortages of such drugs as Terbutaline, which helps asthmatics to breathe; Labetalol, used to regulate heart rhythm; and Cardizem, used for high blood pressure and other heart problems.

Karen Davidson, rescue division chief for Hillsborough Fire and Rescue, said the shortage has not centered on one drug but "changes daily." The department is finding it hard to get Versed, which can be used as a sedative or anesthetic. EMS paramedics frequently use it to make it easier to insert breathing tubes. Also back-ordered is magnesium sulfate, used as a muscle relaxer.

Sporadic drug shortages are not unusual, but the number of reported prescription drug shortages in the United States nearly tripled between 2005 and 2010, according to the federal Food and Drug Administration.

The shortages appear to be caused by several factors, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Among those: a lack of production capacity and expiration of patents, which allows other companies to make generics. It takes time, the HHS report said, for manufacturers to gear up to make the drugs.

Complicating the issue, Romig said, are the problems faced by Hospira, the Illinois company that makes many of the generic medications Tampa Bay emergency medical agencies use.

The FDA has criticized the company for inadequate quality controls. Hospira has said it is fixing the problems, but Romig said the situation makes things difficult for consumers.

"Right now, we don't know whether we will be able to continue getting drugs from that manufacturer," she said. "It could be very much worse if Hospira goes down."

In the short term, Tampa Bay area EMS systems have been substituting one drug for another. They also order different dosage sizes that are more readily available.

Romig has created a committee to study creative solutions to the problem.

Romig said no one calling 911 for help should worry: "We're doing everything we can to preserve our ability to treat our patients as we always have."

Reach Anne Lindberg at alindberg@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8450.



[Last modified: Dec 26, 2011 08:37 PM]

Pinellas Click here for reuse options!
Copyright 2011 Tampa Bay Times



Click here to post a comment
If you see an objectionable comment, click Report Abuse.
Viewing 1 - 12 of 12 comments Oldest First Newest First Top Rated

grammapoker Dec 26, 2011 3:01 PM Yesterday It all boils down to the drug companies wanting more and more money. Crooks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reply Report Abuse 3 9 JamesD Dec 26, 2011 6:42 PM Yesterday They are going to have to get hteir drugs the same way everyone else does. Go to a sham doctor and tell them you have undisclosed pain.
Reply Report Abuse 2 5 SteroidTestTampaPolice Dec 26, 2011 8:32 PM Yesterday Maybe they should STOP STEALING THEM
Reply Report Abuse 3 5 nevertheless Dec 26, 2011 9:06 PM Yesterday Steroid, maybe you should stop TAKING them
Reply Report Abuse 1 6 irefusetobepc Dec 26, 2011 11:11 PM Yesterday morphine is better anyway
Reply Report Abuse 1 2 orangebeagle Dec 26, 2011 11:30 PM Yesterday This is hogwash... Get the medications to the people that need it. It's all about the companies want $$$$$. Bet all the countries we take care of have TONS of these medications. Open up the Canadian connection.
Reply Report Abuse 1 5 cynic Dec 27, 2011 12:50 AM About 18 hours ago greed+shortage=death dam'em
Reply Report Abuse 0 2 ian80 Dec 27, 2011 12:53 AM About 18 hours ago The United States of America is missing drugs? Come on people, give them up . We know you have them!
Reply Report Abuse 0 1 willie_from_penniless_park Dec 27, 2011 5:51 AM About 13 hours ago what drug shortage? there are plenty of drugs available around Tampa Bay
Reply Report Abuse 2 2 jezjames92 Dec 27, 2011 8:47 AM About 10 hours ago Valium and versed are anti-anxiety drugs, not "life-saving"drugs. Fentanyl is a pain killer stronger than morphine not a "life-saving" drug. Terbutaline, labetalol and cardizem have other substitutes. Why would anyone want drugs from a problem manufacturer. There are other drugs manufactured by reputable drug manufacturers. This sounds squirrely.
Reply Report Abuse 4 0
SJL Dec 27, 2011 9:21 AM About 9 hours ago Valium is a lifesaving drug when it's used to stop a grand-mal seizure. Versed is a lifesaving drug when it is used to intubate someone who can't breathe. Reply Report Abuse 0 6 sandyo Dec 27, 2011 5:57 PM About 1 hour ago Sure IS squirrely. And it sure is a devious method to articial price bumps by generic and other manufacturers. It's not as if they are not shoveling in the profits!! Are you 99% starting to feel jerked around?? Then, come Occupy with us! write sandyo@PassERA.org Reply Report Abuse 0 1 Darby Dec 27, 2011 8:58 AM About 10 hours ago I'll bet there's no shortage of Lipitor.
Reply Report Abuse 0 2
goldengirl Dec 27, 2011 5:33 PM About 1 hour ago ...or Viagra... Reply Report Abuse 0 1 sandyo Dec 27, 2011 6:00 PM About 30 minutes ago Lipitor is another scam: their patent expired but thru the courts Lipitor's profitteers won a continuation of the SAME PRICE to consumers even though it's sold to us as atorvastatin, the generic for about 6 more months! get it?--they want to squeeze us consumers EVEN more though it's not really legit to charge proprietary med prices for generic as in this case! I am watching to see if Diovan (for BP) will take the same tack. What exactly remains illegal anymore??? Reply Report Abuse 0 0 ej033 Dec 27, 2011 11:51 AM About 7 hours ago Don't forget the ever increasing regulations drug manufacturers have to meet and the DEA adding icing to that cake. That is the main reason it takes so long for makers to actually start to make a drug product. If the free market could operate, then there would be astronger drug supply. The goverent is fostering a shortage environment.
Reply Report Abuse 1 2
sandyo Dec 27, 2011 6:09 PM About 21 minutes ago WHAT "new regulations" other than the scheduled phases development have always existed. Please? Pharma has ALWAYS complained that R & D costs were what jack up the prices. It's not so, when you consider the longevity of the prices post-market. Again, Big Pharma's obscene profits off our backs should make speed of delivery ever so easy nowadays! Another scam. Everyone know that your docs or nurse practitioners should be writing prescriptions for generics where they exist? You save tons $, Another tip: the expiration date so sanctimoniously inscribed on the bottle is very often shortchanging you--most meds last in a cool dry environment at least 2 yrs longer than they claim. Only a very few change after that, and 99% of the changes are only in loss of potency! I write a 1000+ pg pharm resource text w/international distribution but you can sure compare prices via internet or your favorite pharmacists. You can also ask about actual loss of potency of yr meds, if you can trust them. Reply Report Abuse 0 0
larryburnettwhitetrashtenants Dec 27, 2011 6:44 PM About -1 minutes ago I think there are many addicted fire personnel and emergency personnel. You can kinda tell when you see them. Vacant faces, 1000 mile stares. It's weird. Don't remember that from previously.
Reply Report Abuse