Essay Example on Amoxicillin Shortage: Impact on Health Care Services

Introduction

Suppliers' analysis indicates that there will be a shortage of Amoxicillin for the next six months. It will hinder the provision of services since it is a common drug taken by patients with the facility. The pharmacy department members need to be aware of the medical issue when providing patients with health care products. There are various advantages of using Amoxil such as it is affordable, available in different forms such as tablet or liquid, and can manage different kinds of bacterial infections. Pharmacists prefer the drug since it can interact with other medicines such as anticoagulants to maximize the recovery process of the patients. Pharmacists should learn on how to deal with and manage the drug shortage.

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Uses

Amoxicillin is part of the group of medical substances known as penicillin. The drugs got retrieved from a type of fungi called Penicillium. Amoxicillin is an antibiotic drug which is capable of treating a wide range of bacterial infections which include:

-Bronchitis

-Pneumonia

-Gonorrhea

-Bacterial diseases that attack body organs such as ear, throat, and skin.

-Stomach ulcers caused by Helicobacter.

-Eradicates heart diseases

-Prevents chlamydia condition during gestation period

-Protects sensitive organs such as heart during surgical operations

-Anthrax diseases

Cause of shortage

Statistics show that there has been a shortage of Amoxicillin Trihydrate in all drug manufacturing companies in the United States. Because the active ingredient makes up Amoxicillin, it slowed down the production of the antibiotic. The leading pharmaceutical firms such as Johnson & Johnson will record high financial losses due to the drug shortage. From the current month, the hospital will begin to feel the impact of the absence of Amoxicillin since it is one of the most commonly used medicine within the community. It will take time for the manufacturers to recover and get back to producing a large quantity of the antibiotic.

Effects and Solution

The absence of Amoxicillin will affect the patient's safety through deteriorating medical care within the facility. It is because there will be an increase in the level of error and inaccuracy when providing health care. It will increase the patients' expenses since pharmacists will require more drugs to treat infections which can get solved through prescribing Amoxicillin. It will be difficult for health care providers to provide patients with drugs that can get used for unspecified reasons. It is because Amoxicillin is the most used drug by physicians to fulfil the purpose.

Most of the patients prefer to take the antibiotic since it has manageable side effects hence the shortage will encourage dissatisfaction. Shortage of the antibiotic will increase the chances of complications. It is because the medical physicists will need time to examine the signs and symptoms to prescribe the suitable alterative drug.

There are different antibiotics that the pharmacists can use instead of Amoxicillin such as:

-Cephalexin

-Clarithromycin

-Augmentin

-Bactrim

Drugs such as Bactrim will provide additional services such as managing and treating HIV/AIDS patients. The pharmacologists should take time to educate the patients on the current medical issue which is affecting the entire nation. It will assist them in understanding and adapting to the situation. The pharmacy department should establish long-term strategies that will help the facility to deal with such drug shortages more effectively in the future.