A Newsbite for Nan

Hmm...

Just attempted to send a private email to my congresswoman, Dr. Nan Hayworth.

For whatever reason, the message was just "returned" to me - undelivered.

Your message did not reach some or all of the intended recipients.

Subject: A "newsbite" Dr. Hayworth shouldn't miss
Sent: 2/1/2011 1:18 PM

The following recipient(s) could not be reached:

(xxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx) on 2/1/2011 1:18 PM
451 4.3.5 Server configuration problem

Hmm...

It happens. Frontier Communications is my ISP; not sure whose Nan's is.

Anyway...

Nan,

Here's the Newbite:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704680604576110613604195324.html?mod=WSJ_hps_sections_health

A shortage of injectable generic drugs for cancer and other serious diseases is putting pressure on hospitals, which are sometimes having to scramble to locate the medicines or search for alternative treatments.

* PERHAPS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT COULD SIMPLY... er... "MANDATE"... NO MORE SHORTAGES...???

(*SMIRK*)

The supply of these drugs has tightened in recent years as the generic-drug industry has consolidated, with many of the drugs now made by just one or two companies. In many cases patents have long expired and the original brand-name drug is no longer being produced.

* ON A SERIOUS NOTE, THE FACT THAT THESE PATENTS EXPIRE IS THE PROBLEM...!!!!

Federal regulators have also stepped up enforcement of quality standards, limiting the ability of large manufacturers to ramp up production.

* SAVE THE VILLAGE BY DESTROYING IT... WHERE HAVE I HEARD THAT ONE BEFORE...?!

The Food and Drug Administration reported a record 178 drug shortages in 2010, up from 157 the year earlier and 55 five years ago.

* AIN'T THE AGE OF OBAMA JUST A DREAM COME TRUE? (*SNORT*)

"We think this is near a crisis situation," said Bona Benjamin, a director at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, a pharmacist trade group.

* DON'T EXPECT TO READ THIS IN YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPERS, FOLKS... (*SIGH*)

The FDA has taken some emergency steps to cope with shortages. Last year, it permitted imports from Europe of a sedative drug that hadn't gone through the complete U.S. approval process to cope with shortages of propofol, the drug implicated in singer Michael Jackson's 2009 death. The FDA is also allowing imports from Britain of foscarnet, an antibiotic sometimes used after organ transplants.

(*SARCASTIC CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*) WELL AIN'T THAT JUST DANDY! OBAMACARE... STIMULATING JOB GROWTH IN... er... EUROPE AND GREAT BRITAIN.

"The drugs that have been in shortage for 2010 are ones that there are no good substitutes," said Valerie Jensen, the associate director of FDA's drug shortage program.

* HEY... YA THINK IF YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS, U.S. SENATOR, OR HIGH RANKING EXECUTIVE OR JUDICIAL BRANCH OFFICIAL OR FAMILY MEMBER REQUIRES A "SCARCE" DRUG THEY'LL END UP AT THE BACK OF THE LINE WITH YOUR AVERAGE MEDICARE OR MEDICAID PATIENT...??? DO YOU...???

The FDA's full approval process takes much longer, which is why it is hard for new producers to quickly jump in when demand exceeds supply. Leucovorin, often used to treat colon cancer, has been in short supply for several years, but it was only recently that the FDA allowed another company to start making it.

(*SARCASTIC CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*) OH, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, OH, MAGNANIMOUS FDA! (*SMIRK*)

Companies cite FDA manufacturing rules and bottlenecks in the supply of ingredients for the shortages. "Certainly there's been more drugs shortages in the industry than normal," said Josh Gordon, Hospira's vice president and general manager for specialty pharmaceuticals.

"It just feels like it's constant," said Dwight Kloth, the pharmacy director at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. "Every day you worry: Which medication today?"

* GREAT! JUST FRIGG'N GREAT! OUTSTANDING...! HOPE AND CHANGE, BABY... HOPE AND CHANGE...!

A September survey by the nonprofit Institute for Safe Medication Practices documented more than 1,000 errors, near-misses and adverse patient outcomes attributed to drug shortages. At least two patients died after receiving the painkiller hydromorphone when it was incorrectly prescribed at the same dose for morphine that was unavailable.

* SHORTAGES OF FRIGG'N MORPHINE...?!?! ARE YOU FRIGG'N KIDDING ME...?!?!

Michael Link, the president-elect of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, said the drug cisplatin is in short supply and is a mainstay treatment of testicular cancer. "There really isn't an effective substitute," he said.

* FOLKS... SERIOUSLY... THE FDA MUST BE REINED IN.