As I often write in the blogs about the plight of the uninsured, I once again am posting my concerns.
Many of you may or may not be aware of this, but the generic albuterol MDI has been pulled and yes I understand the rationale with regards to the propellant, but did anyone think about the 52 million+ Americans who could potentially need an MDI to make sure they can stay out of the ER. Along with the fact, that the generic MDI cost about $10 and provided that safety net for those without insurance and even those that have insurance but who have no prescription coverage. As RESPIRATORY THERAPISTS, should we not all be standing up for the lack of this medication, full well knowing that some of the patients we treat may experience shortness of breath needlessly if they are unable to buy it? Of course, Primatene Mist, which has been around for many years is also going later this year. I am believing that no thought or I should maybe give some credit to the big Pharm companies that they paused for a few minutes to consider generating a generic brand MDI that met the EPA standards, but I would give no credit to the feds to understand what it means to put into place a ruling that had potential lethal effects. If there would have been consideration given to a generic MDI there would be more than 3-4 brand name MDI's being dispensed. The brand name meds cost about $50. Forgive me, but for the population we care for, that $50 means the difference between breathing, eating, having shelter and heat.
RT's please start to react to some of these things since this is really our job isn't it to make sure people are able to breathe. Being an ostrich with your head in the sand is really no place to be and sheds a poor light on our profession. Aren't we the ones who advocate all of the time or is that some other profession?
Oh well, hopefully someone is listening and will join the bandwagon. Although, I know that often times being in the sand is a warm place and none of us like to be disturbed there.