Worsening drug shortages leave providers scrambling for alternatives

Modern Healthcare: Dr. James Augustine receives a daily report that shows which drugs are in short supply. Last week, 115 emergency medications were unavailable.

Augustine, an emergency physician who works at Mercy Health hospitals in Cincinnati, said some 40 injectable opiates, 50 IV solutions and a variety of other drugs peppered the report from the distributor Bound Tree Medical.

These shortages of widely used treatments for heart surgery, dehydration, pain management, nausea and other ailments compromise nearly all types of care. It's a week-to-week guessing game on what drug shortage may surface next, Augustine said.

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