Massachusetts hospitals can now share drugs to ease shortages exacerbated by the closing of two pharmaceutical companies following a fungal meningitis outbreak this fall, according to a Boston Globe report.
This fall, drugs from the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass., were linked to more than 700 illnesses and 46 deaths due to meningitis. The company and its sister company Ameridose in Westborough, Mass., closed in October, worsening already existing drug shortages at hospitals in the state.
On Feb. 13, Massachusetts' Public Health Council approved regulations giving the state health commissioner long-term approval for certain hospitals to receive compounded medications from larger hospitals to ease this shortage, according to the report. These new regulations expand emergency rules approved in November that allowed temporary waivers to restrictions against hospitals sharing medications.
Senate Committee Faults "Bureaucratic Inertia" in Meningitis Outbreak
FDA: Avoid Meningitis Contamination, Discontinue Use of New England Compounding Center Products
This fall, drugs from the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass., were linked to more than 700 illnesses and 46 deaths due to meningitis. The company and its sister company Ameridose in Westborough, Mass., closed in October, worsening already existing drug shortages at hospitals in the state.
On Feb. 13, Massachusetts' Public Health Council approved regulations giving the state health commissioner long-term approval for certain hospitals to receive compounded medications from larger hospitals to ease this shortage, according to the report. These new regulations expand emergency rules approved in November that allowed temporary waivers to restrictions against hospitals sharing medications.
More Articles on the Fungal Meningitis Outbreak:
Hospitals Can Share Drugs to Ease Shortage Under New Massachusetts RegulationsSenate Committee Faults "Bureaucratic Inertia" in Meningitis Outbreak
FDA: Avoid Meningitis Contamination, Discontinue Use of New England Compounding Center Products