Life saving drugs are those medicines that are mostly utilized in emergency situations. These drugs are utilized in emergency rooms, intensive care units and operating rooms. These drugs are utilized in conditions where time is the essence and multiple systems of the body are not functioning properly. Heart rhythm may be disturbed or the blood pressure is too low or the infection may be overwhelming.
These medicines stabilize the system and bring the patient close to life and improve the survival. That’s why they are called life saving drugs. The list of these medicines is not extensive and relatively small. Some of those medicines are listed here….
1. Verapamil
2. Adenosine.
3. Epinephrine.
4. Amoidarone.
5. Reteplase.
6. Diltiazem.
7. Solumedrol.
8. Hydrocortisone.
9. Morphine Sulphate
These medicines are utilized for a variety of situations and give physicians an advantage in emergency situations. If the availability of these medicines is not guaranteed, then the physician is at a loss with no solutions and the health care delivery is compromised. So in a resource poor country like Pakistan, it adds to the challenges that an emergency physician faces.
The reasons for the shortage or decreased availability are many folds and each one of the reason has to be studied and efforts should be made to alleviate those reasons. These reasons include Govt. policies and approvals, business community preferences, financial incentives and lack of physicals voice in this important matter.
When we look at the financial and the business part of this issue, we realize that in order to provide people with the medicine, it has to be cost effective and profitable, and at the same time easy to be brought into the country. So it involves the business model, physician input and our Govt policies that make it easy for them to import.
Govt. Level policies are dependent on factors that involve the business community and the physicians input. So when we talk about solutions the ball falls back to physician’s court. Reason for that is simple that the people who face these shortages are physicians who utilize those medicines and they are logically the one that should raise the voice and bring that to the attention and thus to involve others so the shortage could be addressed by Govt. and business community.
As part of better patient care we the physicians need to create awareness among the stakeholders or the people who are involved in the decision making and the ones who are involved in the business to help the physicians in providing better care to the public. They need to be told that lack of these important medicines results in utilization of second and sometimes third choice drugs. This results in increased risks to the patient by not providing the first line drugs and at the same time a real possibility of undesired side effects.
In larger public interest we need to create a way to make these drugs available for the patients, regardless of business profitability, as the real benefit or the dividend of this step is when life is saved and the physicians feel empowered due to availability of these drugs.
As part of the physician’s community and the member of emergency physician’s society, I am raising my voice with the hope that it reaches to the corners where the decisions are made, whether it is business headquarters, Govt office or any other entity that could help.
I could be reached at ERDOC@SHIFA.COM.PK