8A = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
TUESDAY,APRIL23,2002
Drug deficit felt nationally
Prescription drugs also coming up short on local shelves
By Summer Lewis Kansan staff writer
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY AARON SHOWALTER/KANSAN
Pharmacies nationwide are sometimes coming up empty when it comes to supplying needed drugs. There are many variables involved in a drug's production, and the reasons for a shortage are not always be clear.
Pharmacists and patients across the country are facing a shortage of some of the most commonly used prescription drugs.
Cathy Thrasher, pharmacist in charge at Watkins Memorial Health Center, said that pharmacies were experiencing the pinch locally.
"We are coping with a national drug shortage trend." Thrasher said. "The drugs vary from time to time, and the reasons for the shortages vary, but it is very frustrating for patients, pharmacists and other health care providers."
Tom Wilcox, owner and pharmacist of Round Corner Drug Store, 801 Massachusetts, said that the drug companies did not give reasons why shortages occurred.
"There are a lot of drugs that we are in short supply of, and we don't know why." Wilcox said. "The manufacturer gives us the date for the availability of the drug, but even that is tentative."
He said drug shortages have occurred occasionally in the past, but that shortages were now happening more frequently.
"One reason could be that our culture is more willing to treat pain now." Wilcox said. "We are using more narcotics than ever before. Demand is exceeding the limit."
"The limit" is a government-imposed one said Pat Hubbell, pharmacist at Hy-Vee Food Store, 3504 Clinton Parkway. The Drug Enforcement Administration sets a maximum amount that manufacturers can produce of certain drugs, such as narcotics or steroids.
"Once they have reached that allotment, they can't make any more that year. So when the
demand exceeds the limit, a problem arises." Hubbell said.
He also said another reason for the shortage could be a crop failure or lack of materials for production.
"Some medications are made from plants," Hubbell said. "If the crop fails for some reason, the manufacturer can't supply the drug. Or sometimes a particular synthetic material that they need to use to produce the drug is unavailable which stops production."
He said that manufacturers couldn't prepare for shortages, because drugs can't be stocked for emergencies.
"Manufacturers can only keep so much of a drug on hand, because it is only good for a certain number of days," Hubbell said. "There are a lot of variables as far as the manufacturing process goes, so not a lot can be done to prevent a shortage."
Wilcox said the drug shortage could also be a result of something as simple as some kind of problem at a production plant.
The FDA imposes strict rules on the purity and quality of drugs. Sometimes a plant slips in their
cleanliness, and the manufacturing line gets shut down.
Vaccines are especially prone to shortages. Wilcox said vaccines were already expected to be in short supply next fall, so the shortage could be a problem for awhile.
"During tight economic times, drug companies are cutting back, which causes production to slow," he said. "The federal government is being encouraged to get involved in the production of drugs to make sure there is enough for the demand."
Hubbell said that there wasn't much a pharmacy could do for a patient whose prescription couldn't be filled.
"The usual course of action is to call the doctor and find out what we can do, and what we can use to treat them that is similar to what they needed," Hubbell said. "We can also call around to see if another pharmacy has a particular stock of the medicine to get them by until we can get it in."
Contact Lewis at slewis@kansan.com. This story was edited by Angela Cox.
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