Health News
2005-10-28
Baltimore
considers reusing anti-HIV drugs
Baltimore’s city council this week began examining a
plan to redistribute unused medications, including
anti-HIV dr
Baltimore’s city council this week began examining a
plan to redistribute unused medications, including
anti-HIV drugs and cancer treatments, to poor people
in the city who can’t otherwise afford them, TheBaltimore Sun reports. The medications, no longer
needed by patients who have died or switched to different
treatments, would be collected from hospitals and
nursing homes and then made available to poor city
residents in need of medical treatment. Similar
programs already exist in Oklahoma and Louisiana.
The Baltimore
city council’s judiciary and legislative
investigations committee already has unanimously
approved a study of the feasibility and safety of
redistributing medication to the poor.
Supports of the
proposal say it could provide millions of dollars worth
of medications to needy Baltimore residents. "It's a good
idea if it can be implemented efficiently and safely,"
Frank Palumbo, executive director of the University of
Maryland's Center on Drugs and Public Policy, told the
Sun. "Why should these drugs be thrown away if
they're good drugs?" But opponents say it would be an
administrative burden to hospital and nursing homes that
would have to gather, code, and ship the drugs to pharmacies
participating in the redistribution program. (Advocate.com)
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