AUSTIN, Texas —
There's a national shortage of hundreds of medications. An Austin pharmacist said it's impacting Central Texas, but there's no need to panic.
The American Society of Health System Pharmacist has been tracking the recent drug shortage. Currently, there are 323 on the shortage list, which is the highest number so far. The previous record was set in 2014 with 320 shortages.
Dr. Rannon Ching, president and chief pharmacy officer at Tarrytown Pharmacy, said the impacts in Central Texas are mostly regarding diabetes and weight loss medicine, as well as ADHD treatments.
Ching said if your medicine is on the list or if you're worried you might have any issues getting it, keep an open line of communication with your care team. It's all about coordinating with your provider and pharmacist to find an alternative if you're having trouble finding what you need.
"If there's a shortage where there isn't an alternative, really, working with the patient's prescriber to find a different medication that is available or something that can work for the patient in the time being," Ching said. "Most times, the pharmacy will let you know if they can't get a medication in stock or if it's on back order and really work with you and your provider to find a different solution."
From a lack of production to supply chain issues and even a tornado hitting a manufacturing plant, the pharmacist said there are a number of factors causing the shortage.
However, not all medication manufacturers have provided details regarding their specific reasons for the lack of certain prescription drugs.
"About 60% of the people that report the shortages don't give a reason. So, sometimes, we don't even know the reason," Ching said. "So, it's all these pieces of the pie, but it's – unfortunately there isn't that much transparency when it comes to drug shortages. There's just a lot of things that we can kind of piece together."
Ching also added that the bulk of the shortages happening right now are hospital-related, including medications like hormones and fluids related to chemotherapy treatment.