The pandemic caught the entire world off guard, but hospital administrators are, perhaps, facing more adverse effects. From admitting sick patients to administering medicines, healthcare facilities stand right at the hottest spot of the pandemic.
The drastic shift of attention to COVID-19 treatments, coupled with the lockdowns and travel restrictions, has resulted in a scarcity of medicine in many healthcare facilities. Also, some manufacturing facilities have scaled down production as some of the key staff succumbed to the pandemic. Others have shifted focus to COVID-19 vaccines. All these factors have led to the scarcity of drugs in hospitals.
This article discusses five methods adopted by healthcare institutions to establish a constant supply of drugs. Read on!
- Outsourcing From Compounding Pharmacies
Due to shortage of medicines and high demand from patients, some hospitals opt to outsource drugs from compounding facilities.
If you run a medical center in the United States, you may subcontract the services of reputable outsourcing facilities like Fagron Sterile Services to supply you with medicines. Such facilities are approved and monitored by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and their products are compliant with the Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) standards.
Additionally, some compounding companies offer delivery of their products within the same day the order was placed. This ensures that you get a consistent supply of the drugs. Also, as the medicines are delivered directly to the hospital, there’s limited exposure to the virus by you and your staff as you don’t have to travel from place to place in search of medicines. This also gives you time to focus on treating your patients.
On this account, you may want to contract outsourcing pharmacies to replenish your medicine cabinets.
- In-House Manufacturing
As medicine supplies become scarce and prices skyrocket, some hospitals opt to collaborate with medicine manufacturers or other hospitals to produce different varieties of generic drugs to give to their patients.
You may also start a similar project in your healthcare facility. As a result, you’ll get assurance of constant medical supply. Additionally, your patients will enjoy low-priced drugs. In this time when the virus has led to many people losing their jobs and economies to tumble down, it’s mindful of you to provide affordable healthcare to your patients.
- Receiving Medicines From Government Suppliers
The government ships medicine to the states that are most affected by the pandemic. Once there, the state health department distributes them to local hospitals and other medical institutions.
If your hospital is in such a state, you could register to receive government medical services. By this, you’ll get easier access to the required medicines for your patients’ health conditions.
- Receiving Help From Non-Profit Hospital Groups And Individuals
The catastrophic nature of the pandemic has led humanitarian groups to extend help to healthcare institutions that are at the frontmost line in the fight against the virus. As a result, volunteers, including people and organizations such as church groups, veteran groups, and others, would donate medicines to hospitals.
This is a selfless initiative that you may benefit from. If your institution requires medicines, you may do some research about such organizations and make a plea for the delivery of drugs.
- Opting For Pharmaceutical Wholesalers
Some healthcare facilities buy their medicine supplies from pharmaceutical wholesalers. The downside of such companies is that in the event of a shortage of a certain drug in the industry, the prices soar.
However, as your patients’ needs are always your top priority, you can still buy from pharmaceutical wholesalers as this will ensure your drug supply is consistent.
- Mutual Sharing Of Medicine Between Hospitals
In some scenarios, some hospitals within the same locality create a network where the hospital with a surplus in a particular brand of medicine shares it with another hospital that faces shortage of the said drug. The latter, in turn, shares their extra drugs with another hospital that’s in need within the network. This practice ensures that medicines are constantly flowing within the hospitals in the network. The bigger the network of hospitals, the more advantageous it would be, as the possibility of getting the necessary drugs increases.
Conclusion
With the medical emergency brought by the pandemic, issues such as medicine shortages and high prices have sprouted. For such reasons, healthcare facilities have come up with alternative and creative means to ensure that they get a stable supply of medicines. These include outsourcing from compounding facilities, in-house manufacturing of drugs, getting medicine supplies from the government, receiving donated drugs, mutual sharing of medicines amongst healthcare facilities, and buying from pharmaceutical wholesalers.
