Missing medications. Reduced manufacturing or Stockpiling.

My job places me in close contact with medical and pharmaceutical operations.
Several months ago I thought it unusual to see memos and postings that a commonly used medication was unavailable and on back order. The next month another frequently used medication was on backorder.

My initial response was that the hospital was just trying to save money and was doing short ordering and getting caught with its pants down. I forgot about it until a couple of days ago when a medication that is not only frequently used but is a main staple to almost every hospital, clinic and surgical center, was in shortage and on back order. Playing back over my memory it seems that there have been shortages of some medication almost monthly now for over six months, from my experience.

This is ATS. If there is something going on out there that we should be paying attention to, ATS is the place that will root out the conspiracy, if one exist.

Has anyone noticed recent medication shortages? If this is occurring on a large scale, maybe by looking at the types of medications that are suddenly going short and possibly being stockpiled, will give us an idea of what may be coming down the pike and give us an idea of what medications we should be adding to our medicine chests.

This may be just a response to the sad condition of our country’s financial status or it may another oddity in our everyday that is a clue to what may be hiding in plain sight.

Adderall is almost impossible to get now---10 or 20 mg. I even had my script changed to the 24hr, which I was told most places would have and they did for a few months. Now I can't get either generic or name brand. I can't keep running to the dr to get my script changed.

I heard that there is a new adhd medicine on the market and the reason for the adderall shortage is so people will switch to the new medicine. Don't know how true that is.

I'd posted this awhile back but my wife spent half a day last month calling Walgreen's all over the area before finding one with enough on-hand to fill a single month's prescription of Focalin XR. Either the over-prescription of ADHD drugs for our kids has really hit the breaking point....or something is rotten in the state of Denmark. I know I've seen the full cost numbers for those pills without insurance on our son and it sure can't be a lack of profit driving a supply shortage.

She has had some issues with her pain pills (I'm the healthy one in the house..) but it's been touch and go for those and for about 6 months or so. Something is definitely off in supply and they need to get it sorted out while they're looking for more and more ways to get more and more people on drugs of one type or another.

Yah, you notice that too??? Practically all the drugs are taken off our shelves. You can't find nothing. No tylonel, no Excedrin, no Advil. Interesting and it's been like a month, I doubt we will see anything in the near future. I think the recalls was total BS.

Even the store brand, you'd be lucky find something.

Only thing on the shelves that hasn't been taken yet is NyQuil and Laxatives.

Even Benedryl is almost empty.

If medication stockpiling is occuring then something is going on and we are not invited.
"I dont---- be liking that!"

There are a few rumors floating around

- the pharmaceutical companies are creating an artificial demand, since prices have actually increased.

- the FDA releases a certain amount of controlled substances in a given year. It was low this year and couldn't keep up with demand (adderal is bring prescribed in record numbers for example)

- they are in the process of starting to ban the substances.

- the chemical formulas are being reformulated.

Sounds like our government is making things more difficult - shocker! And once again - under the guise of protecting us.

Why Don’t Drug Shortages Happen in Other Countries?

The FDA maintains that price controls aren’t the problem and that its system for inspecting and certifying production facilities hasn’t changed. Rather, it’s the companies’ manufacturing issues that account for the majority of the drug shortfalls, the FDA says.

Because most generics are older drugs that have been around for many years, they tend to be made in older facilities that have not kept up with the latest standards, making them more vulnerable to violations of FDA requirements.

The Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA), however, says that in recent years, inspections have become harder to pass.

“From the industry’s perspective, the FDA has been much more aggressive in their inspection formats over the past two to four years,” says David Gaugh, senior vice president for regulatory sciences at GPhA, who has had experience at a generic manufacturer.

healthland.time.com...

It makes no sense for this to be anything deliberate though..... The Government has been as much behind the subtle push to medicate everyone on something as Pharma itself and ADHD drugs top the list. Why short that market when it's a big part of what is keeping growing numbers of people docile and passive? I'd think they'd want to flood the market if they meddled with it at all.

I'm wondering if it might be signs of something else. Socialist (outside of Scandinavia) nations aren't known for huge selections in well stocked stores on every corner. Mediocrity and average is rewarded as well as excellence, so nothing really gets done well or with all that much energy...hence..everything is slow, sloppy and kinda hit and miss. Could we be seeing the earliest signs of that creeping into our system?

Not else makes sense....Really... It's just too good for too many people that the drug system cruise along smoothly to have any major player tipping that apple cart. Pharma has too many 100's of billions rolling.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


I don’t think this is something that the pharmaceutical companies would be doing deliberately. If it is stockpiling it would only be a short lived and very temporary situation.

I haven't seen a shortage. But I have seen drugs such as allergy drugs go down in milligrams significantly. Maybe just one more way of pounding us into submission!

Drug shortages in the U.S. has been an ongoing problem that seems to be getting worse. Here are some other threads that have some useful information.

Drug Shortages are Leading to Price Gouging and Safety Issues,

www.abovetopsecret.com

Fear in US as drug shortages mount

www.abovetopsecret.com

Critical shortage of leukemia drugs put thousands of kids at risk

www.abovetopsecret.com

I have read so many articles over the last couple of years, that I think this situation is kind of scary and also not really being reported. This will be an ongoing problem, as many of these drugs are no longer profitable to manufacture. What happens if these companies just decide to quit making the drugs that people need? I will be hoping this situation gets better soon,

Hospitals Scrambling for Medications Amid Growing Drug Shortage

foxnews.com

WASHINGTON -- A growing shortage of medications for a host of illnesses -- from cancer to cystic fibrosis to cardiac arrest -- has hospitals scrambling for substitutes to avoid patient harm, and sometimes even delaying treatment.

"It's just a matter of time now before we call for a drug that we need to save a patient's life and we find out there isn't any," says Dr. Eric Lavonas of the American College of Emergency Physicians.

Some experts pointedly note that pricier brand-name drugs seldom are in short supply. The Food and Drug Administration agrees that the overarching problem is that fewer and fewer manufacturers produce these older, cheaper generic drugs, especially the harder-to-make injectable ones.

reply to post by PacificBlue


Your article was dated 5/3/2011. I don't know if it means that it has been going on this long or if this is a new wave.

It would be interesting if we had a list of which medications were running short, for how long and at what time.

We could then tell if it is something contrived, manipulated or the result of an action unexpected.

There is a shortage of the drug acetylcysteine i use 5 times a day..I inhale this medication by mouth with my nebulizer while i use my HFCWO Vest that beats my chest and back ive had to skip treatments for lack of the medication they have a replacement med but the copay is 2 thousand dollars without this medication my life will be cut short but i cant afford this medication ..But the drug acetylcysteine works good for me sometimes im able to get it the hospitals are running short on the drug also all i can do is hope the pharmacies are able to fill the script or at least part of it..peace,sugarcookie1

reply to post by sugarcookie1


Interesting. This may have nothing to do with the present shortage but just a few months ago I noticed this medication being ordered quite frequently for a large number of patients. I had to look it up because I had not seen it ever ordered to be administered in this way before, outside of for Tylenol overdose in children, and that was a number of years ago.

So for there now to be shortage of this medication that was almost never used before in our facilities, seems a bit interesting.

reply to post by NightSkyeB4Dawn

Acetylcysteine is used for certain lung conditions when increased amounts of mucus make breathing difficult. Acetylcysteine liquefies (thins) or dissolves mucus so that it may be coughed up.Its also called
Mucomyst..Im now on a medication called Tobi i take tobi twice a day for 28 days and then 28 days off and its very expensive no shortage of this of course ..peace,sugarcookie1

reply to post by NightSkyeB4Dawn


Same thing happened to me, meds on back

I live in the Northwest USA, and I heard recently when waiting for a doctor's appointment in the hospital that they are having a shortage in the hospital of insulin for diabetics. Apparently, this has been an ongoing problem.

Just a word of advice to any diabetics out there, make sure you stock up on insulin just in case you can't get it one of these days. I wish I had supply of the medication built up, since I use it everyday. At the price they charge per a bottle these days (even with the best medical insurance), it can be a tough thing to "stock up" on, so I can't really offer any advice as to how to do that. Good luck friends

reply to post by NightSkyeB4Dawn


There was a shut down in a large manfacturing plant [Rx medication] in Nebraska. A lot of mix-ups and major issues to be straightened out, but should be remedied soon.
Due to the problems at the Nebraska plant, there is a shortage of OPANA ER. Novartis and Endo did not know how long the plant would be shut down. So, they were advising physicians to not start any new patients on OPANA ER, and consider changing current patients to something else, until the plant was reopened.

ENDO WARNS OF OPANA, PERCOCER PAINKILLER SHORTAGES

WASHINGTON | Mon Jan 9, 2012 1:52pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Painkillers like Percocet and Opana from Endo Pharmaceuticals may be in short supply after their production facility was shut down for manufacturing and quality issues, the company warned on Monday.

Novartis, the maker of certain painkillers for Endo, said on Sunday it was shutting its plant in Lincoln, Nebraska, to fix problems such as pills getting chipped or broken in the production process, or medications getting mixed.

Novartis could not say how long the plant would be closed.

Quality issues and manufacturing problems contribute to most drug shortages in the United States, where 220 medicines were in short supply last year, up from 56 in 2006.

"Given existing inventories, the expected restart of Novartis production and our ability to shift production to other facilities we believe the supply constraints of our products should be limited," said Julie McHugh, chief operating officer of Endo Pharmaceuticals, in a statement.
---
I had this info saved in my drafts, but can't find the link at the moment-sorry about that.

Here is a link that will provide all the current shortages. It is from the ASHP-American Society of Health System Pharmacists:

www.ashp.org...

reply to post by RobinB022


This explains two of the biggies on the list of shortages in my locale, the Valium and the Zofran.


Thank you, as always ATS delivers.