GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Disruptions to the supply chain have been impacting dozens of items affecting our daily lives.
Now, prescription medications are growing on the list of shortages, something that can certainly be life-threatening for many.
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reporting 100+ drug shortages nationwide. Drugs such as Adderall, oxycodone, and insulin are running low across America's pharmacies.
Here in Northeast Wisconsin, Bellin Health says they are being directly impacted as a result.
“We are seeing some drug shortages,” said Laura Alar, Bellin Health Pharmacy Director.
Alar says as a health system, Bellin tries to be proactive.
“At least from our primary distributor, when we see that several items will be in short supply, the first thing we do is develop a conservation strategy, so that we minimize our usage whenever possible,” Alar said.
The second strategy they use is identifying alternative suppliers.
“Should the item be something that’s crucial. We often will switch therapies or make recommendations for alternative therapies. And it’s really key that we communicate across the spectrum of the hospitals, the clinics to make sure we have enough supply. We have had some issues with certain presentations of controlled substances. But again we would switch to a different strength if at all possible so we’re able to manage that,” Alar said.
Alar says currently they’re experiencing a shortage of IV fluids.
“When we say there’s a shortage, a lot of times if there’s a shortage of, let’s say sodium chloride in a particular bag size, so that would be a fluid we would dilute medications with, we would check stability criteria, make an effort to dilute that drug in a different bag size and that’s always a possibility or we will sometimes draw up smaller bags off of larger bags with the same solutions that would be available. In some cases we would look to determine whether we can use alternate fluid to provide the same therapy,” Alar said.
And IV fluids aren’t the only thing that are tight in supply.
“We have tighter management of some of the pre-filled syringes because we do buy quite a bit of stock pre-filled. And we again, work with our external teams and make sure that they are aware of the supply shortages. So we adjust minimums, adjust maximums, in dispensing cabinets in order to effectively manage what we do have in hand,” Alar said.
NBC 26 asked Alar about how this drug shortage compares to before the pandemic. She said since Covid, she’s seen more demand on the delivery system.
“We may have gotten a delivery early in the morning and now for example we’ll get a delivery closer to noon. And having to manage your ordering cycle around those slight delays because the supply chain is a little bit backed up, is something that is a little bit new since Covid. Because undoubtedly there’s a lot more stress on the system with the need to provide many more deliveries on a daily basis to include vaccines from multiple distributors,” Alar said.
She says as a health system they’re doing everything they can to make sure everyone’s needs are met.
“What the public should know is that on the service delivery side is we work together to manage the shortage and try to ensure we can provide the same quality of care despite some of the difficulties getting certain supplies and that’s medications included,” Alar said. “So basically what it comes down to is a plan and being very nimble and flexible about developing those plans to manage that acute shortage situation. Should the public be worried about that? I would hope that we all work together within systems to plan effectively so we can continue to provide safe and effective care during these challenging times.”
Click here to see the full list of drugs impacted. The reasons for the backlogs all differ according to the FDA’s website.
NBC 26 reached out to the FDA for comment and a spokesperson referred us to the following statement:
The FDA is actively monitoring drug availability and we are committed to working with our public health partners, manufacturers and distributors to help mitigate shortages and help ensure continued patient access to vital safe and effective drugs.
Also, on the FDA’s site, they posted that they’re continuing to take steps to monitor the supply chain.
They said Drug Shortage Staff within the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) has asked manufacturers to evaluate their entire supply chain, including active pharmaceutical ingredients, finished dose forms, and any components that may be impacted in any area of the supply chain due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Click here to read more on drug shortages from the FDA.
