|
E-mail this page to a friend!
Most Hospitals Have Been Offered Flu Vaccine at
Inflated Prices
Oct. 13, 2004 Most hospital pharmacy directors
say they have been contacted by vendors offering to sell flu vaccine at
highly inflated prices, since the vaccine shortage was announced on
October 5.
The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
has conducted a survey of more than 2800 hospital pharmacy directors in
the U.S. about how the flu vaccine shortage is affecting their ability
to care for patients.
As of 3 p.m. on Tuesday, October 12, nearly 650
pharmacy directors have responded. The survey was to continue through
midnight Tuesday.
Startling preliminary findings include:
- In just the few days since the influenza vaccine
shortage was announced, more than 55 percent of respondents report that
they have been contacted by opportunistic vendors offering to sell flu
vaccine at highly inflated prices.
- Of the hospitals contacted by opportunistic
vendors:
- - More than 80 percent report being offered the
vaccine at more than 4 times the original market value.
- - Nearly 20 percent have been offered the vaccine
at $800 or more per 10-dose vial -- more than 10 times the original
market value
- More than 75 percent of hospitals report that
they will not have enough flu vaccine to meet the vaccination
recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control.
Please call for more information or to arrange an
interview.
For more than 60 years, ASHP has helped pharmacists
who practice in hospitals and health systems improve medication use and
enhance patient safety. The Societys 30,000 members include pharmacists
and pharmacy technicians who practice in inpatient, outpatient,
home-care, and long-term-care settings, as well as pharmacy students.
For more information about the wide array of ASHP activities and the
many ways in which pharmacists help people make the best use of
medicines, visit ASHPs Web site,
http://www.ashp.org, or its
consumer Web site,
http://www.SafeMedication.com.
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
