Family members of a few Mucormycosis patients are staring at uncertainty, thanks to gaps in communication on procuring Liposomal Amphotericin B vials.
Some who raised request for 60 or more vials of the anti-fungal medicine were issued only 5 or 6 vials after their e-application was approved while a few others who received approval were not informed about which stockist to approach.
Procedure
On May 19, the State government introduced an online application system for allotment of Liposomal Amphotericin B, Posaconazole and Isavuconazole. Application for the medicines is to be sent in a prescribed proforma to ‘ent-mcrm@telangana.gov.in’.
After receiving approval from an expert committee, the applicants would receive an e-mail or SMS with the name of the stockist from whom medicine can be purchased.
“After receiving the approval, we got five vials on May 21. Our requirement is 120 vials. When we sent an e-mail again, we received a reply from the government that our application was ‘already approved’. The stockist has asked for approval ID to issue more vials,” said Mukesh Barman, whose father-in-law is undergoing treatment for Mucormycosis, commonly known as Black Fungus, at a corporate hospital here.
Social media help
Some took to social media to request Health officials to provide the medicine at the earliest.
As per the procedure put in place by the government, applicants who receive the approval have to be provided the name and phone number of the stockist from whom the medicine is to be procured. However, a few people got the nod but without the stockist’s details.
ENT surgeon N. Raja Shekaram has urged the committee to check the health status of patients every three to five days to assess the number of vials needed as per severity of the fungal infection.
