What to do about record number of drug shortages

CINCINNATI — The United States is facing a record number of active drug shortages, according to new data from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and the University of Utah.

The number of active drug shortages, 323, is the highest number the groups have recorded since they began tracking the data in 2001.

Local pharmacies have been feeling the impact.

Sarah Priestle, owner of Hart Pharmacy in Price Hill, said the pharmacy is receiving a record number of calls from patients looking for medications.

Priestle said the pharmacy has seen shortages especially involving medications for ADHD, diabetes and weight loss.

“It is probably days before they get medication,” she said. “I can’t just switch it. I have to talk to the doctor. I have to talk to the insurance company.”

Samantha West has occasionally struggled to find her medication to treat her bipolar disorder and PTSD.

“After like a day, and I don’t have it, I start getting real shaky,” West said.

Shortages have, at times, made her physically sick. Her son has experienced physical symptoms too when the family has been unable to find his ADHD medication.

“We stay at home because like I said, it makes you not have energy,” she said.

At hospital systems, doctors report shortages of anesthesia and drugs for chemotherapy.

“We’ll have shortages of Saline,” said Dr. Stephen Feagins, Chief Clinical Officer of Mercy Health Cincinnati. “We have shortages of routine, other intravenous, or other medications, and we pivot in real-time.”

Feagins said some of the challenges causing the problem include supply chain issues, as well as cheap generics that don’t make sense to produce.

“We sort of are producing just what we need,” he said. “So that any kind of blip causes there to be a shortage or relative shortage.”

ASHP said patients are experiencing shortages with various drugs, including oxytocin, Rho(D) immune globulin, standard of care chemotherapy, pain and sedation medications, and ADHD medications.

ASHP says “new DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) quota changes, along with allocation practices established after opioid legal settlements, are exacerbating shortages of controlled substances.”

So, what can you do?

• Call. Call. Call: Feagins recommends calling around. If one pharmacy doesn’t have your medication, they might be able to route you to another branch within the company that does.
• Get out ahead of it: Priestle urges patients to prepare early, and reach out to doctors and pharmacists with questions.
• Alternatives: In many cases, there may be alternative medications that can be used. However, it might take a few days to confirm a new drug with your doctor and insurance provider.

Priestle warns patients to avoid unverified online pharmacies.
“The patients that are looking for the weight loss medications, unfortunately, it has led to this internet market of these medications that are available from these compounding facilities that that will mail to your house,” she said. “When there is demand that is unmet, people do become desperate. They start to either look elsewhere.”

She warns those less restrictive internet compounding manufacturers tend to be less regulated.

The FDA has resources that can help consumers sort through online pharmacies to find safe access to medication here.

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