Massachusetts' public health council has established emergency regulations allowing hospitals to share medications, since the closure of two pharmacies involved in the fungal meningitis outbreak has resulted in drug shortages, according to a Boston Globe report.
The rules, which go into effect Dec. 1, are designed to enable hospitals to share drugs within their healthcare systems. However, the state could consider special requests to share drugs outside the health system, according to the report. The rules also allow the state Department of Public Health to review hospitals' methods for compounding and transporting the medications they share to ensure patient safety.
The New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass., which produced injectable steroids that caused 34 deaths and 490 illnesses so far, and its sister company Ameridose in Westborough, Mass., have closed. The pharmacies also recalled all their products in September and October.
Massachusetts hospitals had reported shortages of certain drugs before the outbreak, and the pharmacies' closures have exacerbated the problem, according to the report.
Senate Committee Faults "Bureaucratic Inertia" in Meningitis Outbreak
Meningitis Outbreak Testimony Heard by House
The rules, which go into effect Dec. 1, are designed to enable hospitals to share drugs within their healthcare systems. However, the state could consider special requests to share drugs outside the health system, according to the report. The rules also allow the state Department of Public Health to review hospitals' methods for compounding and transporting the medications they share to ensure patient safety.
The New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass., which produced injectable steroids that caused 34 deaths and 490 illnesses so far, and its sister company Ameridose in Westborough, Mass., have closed. The pharmacies also recalled all their products in September and October.
Massachusetts hospitals had reported shortages of certain drugs before the outbreak, and the pharmacies' closures have exacerbated the problem, according to the report.
More Articles on the Meningitis Outbreak:
Senate Committee Questions State Oversight of Compounding PharmaciesSenate Committee Faults "Bureaucratic Inertia" in Meningitis Outbreak
Meningitis Outbreak Testimony Heard by House