Just pricing urged for intravenous plasma

Just pricing urged for intravenous plasma

JAKARTA (JP): The City Council appealed to hospitals and
pharmaceutical companies yesterday to keep the price of
intravenous plasma at an affordable level amid worries about the
continuing dengue fever epidemic.

Soeparmo, head of Commission E for social welfare, urged
hospitals and pharmaceutical firms not to seek too much profit in
time of economic crisis when most people's income was barely
enough to buy basic essentials.

"We know that they have the right to make a profit. But please
don't make too much profit, especially during this time of crisis
when people are in economic trouble," he said.

He said the Ministry of Health had set standard prices for
intravenous plasma and that pharmaceutical companies and
hospitals should comply with these.

Intravenous plasma most commonly used on dengue patients in
the city is called RL, or Ringer Lactat. It is available only in
certain pharmacies.

These will prioritize the hospitals they are associated with.
Saint Carolus Hospital's pharmacy sells a 500cc bottle of RL
plasma for Rp 5,700 (71 U.S. cents) and the Indonesian Christian
University for Rp 5,900.

An attendant at the Pelni Hospital's pharmacy said patients
from other hospitals could buy less than 10 bottles of plasma for
Rp 4,600 each. An employee at the Fatmawati Hospital's pharmacy
said they had plenty of plasma available for patients from other
hospitals at Rp 6,500 a bottle.

According to a doctor at the Fatmawati hospital's center for
dengue fever control, RL plasma is the first treatment to be
given to the dengue fever patients on their arrival at the
hospital.

"A patient's demand for intravenous liquid varies depending on
the stage of the illness. A critical patient who spends a long
time in hospital could need up to 40 packs," the doctor, who
asked for anonymity, told The Jakarta Post.

She said the next step after receiving the plasma was to check
on the thrombosis level in the patient's blood before deciding
how large a blood transfusion the patient would need.

A staffer at the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Red Cross
said yesterday the office was overwhelmed by people seeking blood
for relatives suffering from dengue fever.

The employee, who asked not to be named, said that many people
were not aware that dengue fever sufferers needed only fresh
plasma, not regular blood.

"We could take around 30cc of plasma from 100cc of fresh
blood. It takes up to 10 hours to process until the plasma is
ready to be used," he said. Plasma must be used no later than six
hours after being processed, he added.

Each bag containing about 300cc of blood costs Rp 52,000 in
service fees, the official said.

As of yesterday, the death toll in this year's dengue fever
outbreak in Jakarta was 43 with another 4,300 hospitalized,
according to Hadi M. Abednego, the director general for the
control of communicable diseases.

In Tangerang, the death toll is 13 and 387 people have been
hospitalized.

Here poor people can get free treatment in the hospital
provided they have a letter of recommendation issued by their
neighborhood chief.

Data from the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central
Jakarta shows that 428 dengue patients were treated in the
intensive care unit from April 1 to April 19. (41/ivy/cst)