2023 HEALTH CARE EDITION
DRUG DEFICITS
FINDING AN ALTERNATIVE If patients are having diculty obtaining their medication due to ongoing shortages, medical professionals oer 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
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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 ADMINISTRATIONCOMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCES: UNIVERSITY OF UTAH DRUG INFORMATION SERVICE, AMERICAN SOCIETY OF HOSPITAL PHARMACISTS, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTECOMMUNITY IMPACT
one runs out, but the changes can be dicult for patients, Wollen said. “Patients … are usually pretty frustrated and understandably so. … There’s some people that can’t aord ... [to take] a half day of work trying to chase around town and nd out who has their drug in stock,” Wollen said. For the last year, Summerwood
resident Jennifer Arnott has been driving to a pharmacy about 28 miles away from where she lives to get her prescription thyroid medication. Arnott has taken Levoxyl for about 10 years, and she said she does not do well on substitutes for the medication. “It’s a pain, but there’s nothing that you can really do,” Arnott said.
Experts are unsure when the shortages will end. Brynes said demand always ebbs and §ows for various medications. “Often times medications that are used ‘o label’ might be a fad—such as medications with weight loss as a side eect—and with time ... [as] the pros/cons of using certain
medications ‘o label’ becomes more widespread; demand wanes,” Brynes said. Hannah Brol contributed to this report.
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
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