Drug Shortage Felt in Michigan

If it seems like getting certain drugs is harder to do, it’s because it is. As of Friday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported that 136 drugs are in short supply. The American Society of Hospital Pharmacists (ASHP) also reported 47 drugs are in short supply as of the first quarter of 2023 alone. … Continued

Drug Shortage Felt in Michigan

If it seems like getting certain drugs is harder to do, it’s because it is.

As of Friday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported that 136 drugs are in short supply. The American Society of Hospital Pharmacists (ASHP) also reported 47 drugs are in short supply as of the first quarter of 2023 alone.

Some of the medications include cisplatin and carboplatin, two chemotherapy drugs used to treat cancers such as bladder, breast and ovarian; penicillin and other antibiotics; children’s medicine, such as children’s ibuprofen; and the ADHD medicine Adderall, with the supply fluctuating since October of last year.

Medical experts say the shortage in Michigan isn’t caused by the supply chain, which was a main cause of a lot of product shortage during the pandemic, but a “supply web,” in which the certain regions of the U.S. experience a greater shortage of drugs than others.

Disease outbreaks are also exacerbating the shortages. Penicillin has been hard to find because syphilis on the rise nationwide. Because of this, The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services asked public health departments to prioritize penicillin for pregnant women. The department usually has up to 200 doses on hand; now it has fewer than 100, Department spokesperson Chelsea With told Bridge Michigan. The combination of the ongoing COVID pandemic, Respiratory Syncytial Virus and the flu caused ear and bacterial infections that also required antibiotics.

Other reasons for the current shortages are pharmaceutical companies shuttering their doors, warehouses running out of space or workers going on strikes.

What ends up happening is when one drug is in short supply, doctors and pharmacists look for alternative versions of it, which means less of the medications. That further worsens the shortage.