Pharmacists are raising concerns that a national shortage of protective face masks could cause a rise in medication errors and make it hard to ensure drugs remain sterile, NPR reported.
Pharmacists are required to wear surgical masks when making liquid drugs that are injected into patients' veins. It is a crucial step to ensure the drugs remain sterile, according to NPR. Pharmacists also wear N95 masks to protect themselves when they counsel patients in hospitals.
The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists surveyed about 400 hospital pharmacists about mask shortages and found that over half said their hospital has already implemented a conservation plan, raising concerns that they're in danger of running out.
According to the survey from ASHP, 15 percent of pharmacists said they've already seen a "major or moderate" disruption in surgical mask supplies, meaning they either went without masks or used alternatives with "mixed or poor" results.
Soumi Saha, pharmacist and senior director of advocacy for group purchasing organization Premier, told NPR that if the mask shortage continues, "we could start seeing a surge in unfortunate patient medication errors and patient harm."
Read the full article here.