Patients, hospitals face shortages of some pain relief medications

Patients, hospitals face shortages of some pain relief medications
By Joe Smilor on February 22, 2009 3:00 PM
Periodic shortages of pain relief medications have caused problems in recent months for some area hospitals and the patients who rely on them.

On its Web site, the Food and Drug Administration reported the shortage of oxycodone immediate release tablets in 5, 15 and 30mg.

Erica Abbett, a spokeswoman for drugmaker Covidien, explained the shortage this way: "Currently there is an industrywide supply issue with oxycodone-related products. The situation is due to multiple factors, including two competitors' products being removed from the market because of recalls.

"Covidien has significantly increased our product output as a result of the supply issue, however we alone cannot meet the total demand for these products. We are working diligently to ensure that interruption of patient access to vital pain management products, like oxycodone, is minimized," Abbett said.
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