According to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, there were 323 drug shortages in the first three months of 2024.
The last high before 2022 was in 2014, when there were currently 301 drug shortages. This is also the highest record since the industry group began tracking drug shortages in 2001.
According to the American Association of Health-System Pharmacists, basic medicines are in critical shortage, including insulin, drugs specific to type 2 diabetes, standard-of-care chemotherapy, painkillers and sedatives, and ADHD medications. It is said to be included in
Doctors are struggling to find supplies
Doctors are trying to help patients overcome this shortage, but it’s increasing anxiety and concern for patients.
Dr. Miguel Parrillo of Premier Health’s Bull Family Diabetes Center in Oakwood had this to say about the search for diabetes drugs in general:
Parillo may have 15 to 20 or more patients a day who need help creating alternative plans when their regular medications are not available.
While some patients are able to switch to alternative medications, others have difficulty finding medications that are available, work for them, are covered by insurance, or are affordable.
One of the drugs Parrillo’s patients have trouble finding is Humalog, specifically the vial of insulin lispro injections that patients typically use when using an insulin pump, he said. Stated.
According to the FDA, drug company Eli Lilly has discontinued 3-millimeter vials of Humalog. Pharmaceutical companies warned earlier this year that these manufacturing changes would likely lead to shortages of the replacement 10mm until April, but the shortages have continued into May.
“I never imagined there would be a shortage of medicines, let alone a few medicines, but it is happening with a variety of manufacturers.The reasons for the shortages are unknown and there are many It seems to be causal,” Parrillo said.
Time spent calling the pharmacy
Carter has spent hours on the phone at pharmacies trying to find medication for her son’s ADHD, which she says doesn’t just help him focus. The drug Focalin helped him function and improved his quality of life.
“He couldn’t do anything,” Carter said of her son’s condition before he was diagnosed and treated for ADHD, noting that without medication he couldn’t self-regulate or control his emotions.
ADHD, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, is a neurodevelopmental disorder. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, it indicates an ongoing pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning and development.
“Life has been so hard that he hasn’t been able to control himself in a lot of ways, but because of the medication… he’s happy. He’s smiling,” Carter said. Ta. “He’s been able to function as a normal 8-year-old compared to not being able to control his emotions.”
The longest time Carter has ever called multiple pharmacies was more than four hours looking for Focalin. Her husband once had to leave his job to go to her pharmacy before it closed. She will need to start at her CVS pharmacy since her family’s insurance will have to go through her CVS first. It would be helpful for her because her CVS Pharmacy is within a 20 mile radius and she would be able to see other locations that may offer CVS Pharmacy.
If you can’t find your medication at CVS Pharmacy, you’ll need to get permission from your insurance to go through another pharmacy.
“Once you get out of the CVS network, you literally have to call pharmacy after pharmacy,” Carter says.
She went so far as to find a pharmacy that had it in stock, but before her son’s doctor could send the prescription to the pharmacy to be filled, it would be filled and bought by someone else.
“Many times, by the time the doctor sees it and calls us, we’ve lost the supply that they had, and then we have to start all over again,” Carter said.
If her son has to take the medication, he may experience withdrawal symptoms such as severe headaches.
Controlled substances within limits
According to the FDA, drug shortages can occur for a variety of reasons, including manufacturing or quality issues, delays or discontinuations.
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s new allocation changes and allocation practices established after opioid legal settlements are exacerbating controlled substance shortages, according to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. 12% of all drugs currently in short supply include ADHD drugs.
The DEA says drug companies haven’t met those quotas and says the companies could have produced more but didn’t.
For amphetamine drugs like Adderall, as of 2022, manufacturers were not producing the full amount they were allowed to make under these restrictions, according to the DEA and FDA.
Based on DEA’s internal analysis of inventory, manufacturing, and sales data submitted by manufacturers of amphetamine products, manufacturers have approximately 70% of assigned quotaaccording to a joint letter from DEA Administrator Ann M. Milgram and FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf.
The DEA has also pushed for greater transparency from drug companies. request to pharmaceutical companies Submit the expected production schedule, report monthly the amount of medicines produced and shipped, and report whether those medicines will be used domestically or exported.
Generic medicine shortage
Because generic drugs are less profitable, there is less incentive for pharmaceutical companies to manufacture and sell them.
According to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association (PhRMA), a trade group representing the U.S. pharmaceutical industry, about 70% of the drug shortages in the United States are generic drugs.
When something becomes a generic drug, profit margins continue to shrink and manufacturers are no longer able to make a profit on producing the drug, said Eddie, president and CEO of the Ohio Life Sciences Association.・Mr. Pauline said. Ohio’s biotech and other life science industries.
“In those cases, there needs to be some kind of federal or state incentive to make a business case,” Poulin said.
According to PhRMA, approximately 40% of generic drugs were supplied by a single manufacturer, with a median number of manufacturers per drug of two.
PhRMA said in a statement: “Given that the majority of prescription drug shortages are generic drugs, lawmakers need to implement public policies that foster infrastructure investments that increase the resiliency of drug supply chains with a long history of drug shortages. It should be a priority.”
Some point to insurance companies, but many do not cover certain drugs or brands or require prior authorization, which can be time-consuming and error-prone.
Eaton’s Alyssa Overton said if the online submission for pre-authorization is not completed correctly, patients may have to go through the process of submitting insurance company documentation and medical records.
“It was really crazy, but then we had to fill it out by hand, put the records together and fax them manually,” Overton said of helping others get through the pre-approval process. he said.
Overton had to go a week without taking her ADHD medication. She said her husband had to go without his medication for about six weeks because of problems between her insurance company and the pharmacy after a data breach at her United Healthcare.
Families like the Carters are starting to get the medicine they need, but they’re still waiting for the other shoe to drop again.
“My blood pressure is actually increasing every month,” Carter says. “…I’m going to move mountains for my kids. I’m going to call every pharmacy if I have to. But I think about the parents who don’t have the ability or the intention to do that. That makes me sad.”
