Local pharmacies affected by Adderall shortage
BRENTWOOD, Pa. (KDKA) - The shortage of the prescription drug Adderall is making it difficult for many pharmacies to keep the medication in stock for people who need the drug to concentrate and complete day-to-day tasks.
Spartan Pharmacy in Brentwood is receiving more phone calls and seeing lots of new faces of people who are trying to find Adderall.
"We get a lot of phone calls every day from patients that cannot get medication from their pharmacy, and they are looking to transfer pharmacies and unfortunately, we just can't take on new patients," said Jacob Wissinger, manager and pharmacist at Spartan Pharmacy in Brentwood.
Wissinger said right now, it's difficult to set up a relationship with a pharmacy that's going to have a consistent stock of Adderall, which is used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. It helps children and adults focus and concentrate.
Wissinger said they've been trying really hard to keep an inventory of it.
"Not very much, basically we have back orders in from our wholesaler and they supply us. They kind of trickle in and out, but it definitely is not a steady inventory," he said.
The FDA announced in October that the shortage of Adderall and its generic form began with manufacturing delays. Now the shortage is being driven by a demand increase.
"Demand has definitely increased over the past I'd say even several years and supplies just can't meet demands. We've been trying really hard to keep an inventory of it and I think we've done a good job of taking care of our patients," said Wissinger. "So even here we are, doing our best to keep it for our patients and take on new patients when we can. We still can't guarantee next month's fill so that is difficult for them."
Pharmacists hope the supply will catch up with the demand soon.
"This does happen with other classes of medicine at least once a year. I'd say there is medicine going in and out of stock and we do our best to reach out to other wholesalers and get in what we can. So stick through, weather it out, this will end too, but just like everywhere else, we are having supply issues as well," Wissinger said.
Katie Suda, PharmD, professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, who also practices at the VA, provided a statement about the shortage:
"Up until recently drug shortages primarily impacted medicines administered to patients in the hospital, such as sterile injectable drugs. However, shortages of oral medicines commonly taken by outpatients are occurring with increasing frequency. The current shortage of Adderall® (immediate release amphetamine mixed salts) is an example of one of these shortages. Drug shortages are distressing for patients, their caregivers, and the health care team. Know that your pharmacist is doing everything they can to get you your medicine. Patients and/or their caregivers should communicate with their pharmacist on the availability of medication supply and their prescriber to reassess the need for the medicine and if an alternate medicine is available. If an alternate medicine is prescribed, patients and caregivers should triple check the medication directions – an alternate medication may be taken differently (e.g., once per day vs twice per day)."
The FDA website shows the estimated availability of the drug for some of the manufacturers is April and June.
