2023 HEALTH CARE EDITION
DRUG DEFICITS
FINDING AN ALTERNATIVE If patients are having di culty obtaining their medication due to ongoing shortages, medical professionals o er the following advice.
As of March 31, the class of drugs in shortest supply nationally were central nervous system drugs—such as Adderall—and the second highest category shortage was antimicrobials, such as amoxicillin.
Types of drugs in shortest supply nationally as of March 31
52
10 20 50 30 40
35
30
27
23
STEPS TO TAKE
Contact other pharmacy locations if pharmacy is a chain Try locally owned/independent pharmacies Ask doctor for alternative medications
0
Fluids/elytes (Electrolytes are minerals that aid in hydration and bodily health.)
Antimicrobials (Used to treat or prevent infections; includes antibiotics and antivirals)
Chemo (Chemotherapy is a treatment for cancer.)
CNS drugs (Includes medications for depression, anxiety, ADHD, insomnia and seizures)
Hormones (Can be synthetic or natural endocrine gland extracts; includes medications for diabetes)
SOURCES: UNIVERSITY OF UTAH DRUG INFORMATION SERVICE, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCES: UNIVERSITY OF UTAH DRUG INFORMATION SERVICE, AMERICAN SOCIETY OF HOSPITAL PHARMACISTS, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE COMMUNITY IMPACT
they’re so commonly used right now, but the other [medications] are a lot less frequently used,” Wollen said. As of March 31, the class of drugs in shortest supply nationally were central nervous system drugs, such as Adderall, according to the report. The second highest category shortage was antimicrobials—such as amoxicillin. “When the medication or dosage is not available, we often must start over from the beginning in regard to the treatment plan,” Dr. Anupam Sidhu, a primary care physician at Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital, said in an email. “This takes time and e ort, and it is frustrating to watch our patients su er from a condition that would otherwise be well-managed.” Supply and demand Drugs typically pass through mul- tiple parties—such as suppliers, man- ufacturers, wholesalers, hospitals and pharmacies—in the supply chain before they end up in the hands of
patients, according to the FDA. Disrup- tions can happen at any point along the journey, causing shortages. For 2022, 19% of drug manufacturers blamed supply and demand for U.S. medication shortages, and 18% cited manufacturing issues, according to the University of Utah Drug Information Service. Meanwhile, 56% of manufac- turers did not know the cause or would not provide a cause. When Adderall was added to the FDA’s shortage list in October, phar- maceutical producers cited “demand increase” or “shortage of active ingre- dient” as the causes, according to the agency’s website. “People are able to get seen and get treated for mental health issues much more readily, and so that has caused the increase in demand that the sup- ply chain didn’t have enough to keep up with,” Wollen said. In addition to supply chain issues, Dr. Jared Heathman, a psychiatrist with Mynd Psychiatry in Spring, said
“My son switched from getting his prescription at H E B to Kroger, and Kroger is able to get his medicine, but his insurance does not cover his medi- cine at Kroger,” Ramagos said. “So he’s having to pay out of pocket.” When Adderall has become too challenging to nd, Ramagos said her husband’s doctor has switched his prescription to Concerta, which she said has actually worked better for him than Adderall. However, she noted Concerta and other Adderall alterna- tives have likewise become increas- ingly hard to nd. “Patients … are usually pretty frus- trated and understandably so,” Wol- len said. “There’s some people that can’t a ord the time and [taking] a half-day o work trying to chase around town and nd out who has their drug in stock.”
he believes the shortages are also due in part to legal disputes between brand and generic companies as well as tem- porary COVID-19-related policies that are still in place. “There are some temporary COVID- 19-related legal changes that have increased the number of online pre- scriptions for certain generic ADHD medications. These laws will be phased out or changed over time,” Heathman said in an email. Waiting for relief In the interim, doctors and pharmacists are having to get creative to supply patients with their needed medications. At Lighthouse Pharmacy, Ngo said she has been looking for secondary vendors to supply medications she’s unable to get from her primary vendors—although she noted it comes with a higher price tag. Ramagos said her son has found some success in switching pharmacies.
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
Dog & Cat Boarding • Dog Training & Agility • Dog & Cat Grooming • Doggie Daycare
NEED TAX HELP? LOCAL & READY TO SERVE!
Cage Free Dog Boarding
VISIT OUR GIFT SHOP
New Customers Only. Not Valid on Hol idays.
BOARDING or GROOMING
200 Baker Drive, Suite B Tomball, TX 77375 281-351-1351 schwabaccounting.com
Personal & Business Tax Services BOOKKEEPING • PAYROLL • IRS REPRESENTATION Focus on Growing Your Business !
Schwab Accounting & Tax
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK, 365 DAYS A YEAR Mon-Sun 7am-7pm
7/20/23
11105 Mahaffey | Tomball, TX 77375 | 832-884-6122 | WillowCreekPets.com
25
SPRING KLEIN EDITION • JUNE 2023
Powered by FlippingBook