14% of those surveyed reported medical errors, and nearly 50% claimed that supply chain shortages had caused delays in patient care.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
July 2023 saw the collection of answers by ECRI and the ISMP (Institute for Safe Medication Practices). An ECRI poll found that shortages in the supply chain are causing problems in every area of healthcare, including patient care, and adding on to the administrative burden. In addition to doctors, nurses, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and procurement specialists, the poll included responses from 200 healthcare professionals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In the six months preceding the poll, six out of ten participants reported that shortages had affected over twenty medications, single-use items, or durable medical equipment. Almost 75 percent of those surveyed claimed that the lack of these professionals had affected the standard of anesthetic and surgical care.<\/span><\/p>\n Emergency care (64%), pain management (52%), cardiology (45%), hematology and oncology (44%), infectious diseases (39%), and obstetrics and gynecology (37%) are among the other specialties that are being negatively impacted by the shortages.<\/span><\/p>\n According to the majority of healthcare professionals, patient treatment has been hampered by supply chain constraints. A significant portion of participants (49%) reported that patient treatments had been postponed, rescheduled, or canceled. Cancellation of surgical cases has been the result of clinicians not having the necessary supplies on hand for the surgeries. Moreover, patients have to be moved to other facilities due to equipment repair delays caused by a lack of replacement components for medical equipment.<\/span><\/p>\n Approximately 33% of participants stated that shortages prevented them from giving patients the prescribed medication or treatment for their ailment; of these, 21% claimed that this led to patients receiving a less active medication.<\/span><\/p>\n