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SALT LAKE CITY — Authorities have been dealing with a growing problem of opioids on the streets. But hospitals, including one in Utah, are dealing with a completely different opioid crisis.
Opioids like fentanyl, morphine and hydromorphone are in short supply nationally, which is impacting hospitals, according to Erin Fox, University of Utah Health senior director of drug information.
The nationwide shortage of the fentanyl has Intermountain Medical Center hospitals managing their inventory carefully, said Jess Gomez, a spokesman for IMC.
“The good news is the patients are still getting the medicines they need and the treatment they need,” Fox added. “The people who are working the hardest are the folks inside the pharmacy. … The pharmacy departments and technicians are really working huge, extra amounts of hours to try to make sure the right medicine is at the right place at the right time.”
Fentanyl, which is becoming increasingly synonymous with the U.S.’s opioid epidemic as it is 100 times more potent than morphine, is used in hospitals as a post-operation pain medication and in anesthesia. It's also given to "relieve severe ongoing pain," such as cancer, according to WebMD.
The dosage amount in hospitals, however, is much lower than illicit drug use on the street.
“These are very small doses that are used in hospitals for procedures, surgeries. Patients usually only get one or two doses,” Fox said. “These aren’t large containers of large prescription drugs that the patients are sent home with, so the shortages are these prefilled syringes, small vials and ampoules that hospitals need every day to take care of their patients, to do procedures and their operations.”
Fox keeps statistics on drug shortages in the U.S. and those statistics date back to 2001. Her graphs show shortages declining after a shortage spike from 2007 to 2011. There are currently more than 100 drugs currently in a shortage, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“It’s not really a new problem, but it’s a frustrating problem,” she said, adding most drugs currently in a shortage are older or injectable drugs. Fox said manufacturing delays have been the root known cause for most shortages.
She added the shortages have made it difficult for hospitals, but those hospitals are doing the best they can with what they have.
“It is very time-consuming for hospitals to figure out the best ways to conserve products and make sure you’re using the right amount (and) use alternatives whenever you can,” Fox said. “Patients, at the end of the day, are still getting the right doses, they’re still getting the right treatment, but it is an extraordinary amount of work to make that all happen.”
