Spring - Klein Edition | June 2023

CONTINUED FROM 1

A NATIONAL PROBLEM

who has to send the prescription to the pharmacy every month. Due to insur- ance restrictions, the medication is only available in one-month supplies and can only be lled when a patient is about one day from running out—a small time frame that can be further compounded in the midst of an Adder- all shortage, she said. “It’s just been a crazy rat race,” Ramagos said. “You can’t call [your prescription] in until you’re almost out, and then the pharmacy can’t get it so then you may be out of medicine for three or four days, a week [or] two weeks.” The Ramagos family is one of many who have been dealing with the same struggle since the Food and Drug Administration added Adderall to its shortage list on Oct. 10, according to the agency’s website. Beyond Adderall, widespread drug shortages have been seen across the U.S. since the fall, leaving Spring- and Klein-area patients as well as medical personnel scrambling to meet their needs. Ongoing shortages At the end of the rst quarter of this FOLLOWING THE SUPPLY CHAIN

Nationally, drug shortages peaked in the rst quarter of 2023 at 301, compared to the previous ve years, according to a national study conducted by the University of Utah Drug Information Service.

Number of drug shortages nationally by quarter

301

300 350 250 50 100 150 200

276

271

242

202

Q2 Q3 Q4

Q4 Q1

Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

SOURCES: UNIVERSITY OF UTAH DRUG INFORMATION SERVICE, AMERICAN SOCIETY OF HOSPITAL PHARMACISTSCOMMUNITY IMPACT

year, 301 drug shortages were ongoing, according to a national report from the University of Utah Drug Information Service. This represents a 23% increase in drug shortages from one year ago. Ongoing and active drug shortages are the most numerous they’ve been since 2014, according to the report. “Right now, we can only get a certain

amount [of medication] every month, so we can ll some patients’ [prescrip- tions], but we can’t ll everything,” said Tracy Ngo, a pharmacist at Light- house Pharmacy in Spring. “I’d say it’s aecting 20%-30% of our patients.” Beginning in October, some of the biggest drug shortages in addition to Adderall have been Albuterol, an

asthma medication, and Ozempic, a diabetes medication, said Dr. Joshua Wollen, a clinical assistant professor at the University of Houston’s pharmacy practice and translation research department. “Those big three—Albuterol, Adder- all and Ozempic—are probably the most pronounced ones because

Multiple parties—such as suppliers, manufacturers, wholesalers, hospitals and pharmacies— make up the supply chain for medications, according to the Food and Drug Administration, and disruptions can happen at any point along the journey, causing drug shortages.

Pharmacy or hospital

Wholesaler distributor (primary)

Supplier : Provides components and ingredients for medications to manufacturers

Manufacturer : Processes ingredients for pharmaceutical products

Manufacturer

Supplier

Patient

Wholesaler distributor : Purchases medications from manufacturers and distributes them to customers; independent pharmacies can seek out secondary wholesaler distributors when looking for out-of-stock medications

Repackager : Moves medications into dierent containers without altering the product

Pharmacy or hospital : Can also include nursing homes, doctor’s oces, labs and clinics

Patient : 48.6% of people in the U.S. used a prescription drug in the last 30 days from 2015-18.

Wholesaler distributor (secondary)

Repackager

SOURCES: FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, THE KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTIONCOMMUNITY IMPACT

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