Since I have been in the healthcare world for so long, I have seen
stages of healthcare, everyone is building ambulatory centers to
avoid patients going into the hospitals and waiting in the emergency
rooms, The ambulatory centers can act as, primary care centers,
urgent care pretty much none threatening issues you can go to. These
centers bring more money into the healthcare centers. It employs
more people and brings in more patients because most of their hours
are 12 hours or until the last patient leaves. They can provide more
services in a shorter amount of time so it is less waiting which means
more revenue for the healthcare centers.
While searching for healthcare trends to discuss in this post, I began
to think about my hospital and our current budgeting issues. Over the
last two years, COVID-19 has drastically changed the healthcare
world, and medication cost and availability have been deeply
affected. Drug shortages exacerbated by COVID-19, rising
medication costs, and decreased financial assistance negatively affect
hospital budgeting.
Hospital administration and unit managers are tasked with adjusting
to shortages and subsequent financial costs. Throughout the last two
years, maintaining supplies in the hospital has been a constant issue.
While PPE supply availability has improved since 2020, other hospital
necessities such as medications remain an issue. According to the U.S.
FDA (2020), drug shortages are due to two main reasons: quality
manufacturing issues and raw material shortages. Drug shortages are
not a new problem in healthcare. Injectable drugs were already on
shortage lists prior to COVID-19, and since the pandemic started,
shortages have worsened (Burg, 2020). Critically ill patients, higher
censuses, and production interruptions are likely stressors to
medication availability. Drug shortages, such as analgesics and
paralytics, significantly impact patient care and outcomes.
Since the pandemic started, necessary medication supplies have
dwindled, and cost has increased. Drug manufacturers have increased
the prices of medications. According to the American Hospital
Association (n.d.), Dilaudid cost has risen by 107%, Mitomycin by
99%, and Vasopressin by 97%. Medication costs increasing even a
tiny amount can have drastic adverse effects on operating margins,
especially during a pandemic when budgets are thin.
Government and health plan assistance throughout the pandemic has
helped, but recently aid has started to decrease. The antiviral used to
help treat COVID-19, Remdesivir, was covered through government
assistance, and hospitals are now required to buy the medication
through their finances (AHA, n.d.). Although COVID-19 cases are
down compared to the omicron and delta surges, hospitals must
adjust finances to include the costs of medications previously
covered by emergency relief funds and health plans. Also, since the
pandemic, pharmacies that previously had 340B contracts with
hospitals have denied decreased pricing (AHA, n.d.). 340B programs
allow providers to purchase medications at discounted prices to
provide higher quality patient care in low-income and rural
communities. Hospitals similar to the one I work for greatly benefit
from the 340B contract pharmacies. Overall, COVID-19 has amplified
issues within healthcare, especially financial planning. Drug
shortages, rising medication costs, and reduced financial assistance
continue to create an environment in healthcare that is not
sustainable.
References
AHA. (n.d.). Costs of caring | AHA. American Hospital Association.
https://www.aha.org/costsofcaring
Burg, S. (2020, November 17). COVID-19 exacerbates drug shortages.
AMA details next steps. American Medical Association.
https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/covid-19-
exacerbates-drug-shortages-ama-details-next-steps
U.S. FDA. (2020, November 13). Frequently asked questions about drug
shortages. U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-shortages/frequently-asked-
questions-about-drug-shortages
