So far this year 133 cases of medicine shortages in Norwegian hospitals have been reported. Throughout 2015 the figure was at 141, and now physicians will have choose which patients will get those essential medicines.
According to Dagens Næringsliv, the have experienced the most serious shortages cancer and anesthesia medicines, but they may also eventually experience a shortage of X-ray contrast mediums.
The head of the Department of Haematology at Oslo University, Geir Tjønn Fjord, will have to prioritize which of their patients that are to get the cancer drug Melphalan.
– Those who get the greatest benefit from treatment, will get a higher priority than those who benefit less, he said.
Children take precedence over all other group, followed by patients who they are trying to cure of the disease once and for all, and lastly patients who can’t be permanently cure but receive it as a part of a life-prolonging treatment.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today