Drug Shortages Are On The Rise: How Can Your Pharmacy Adapt?
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by Dr. Alex Toth<br/>
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Dr. Alex Toth is the Owner of Plumsted Pharmacy in New Jersey and Co-Founder of InStockRx.<br/>
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If you are a Community Pharmacy Owner or Pharmacist in Charge looking for new strategies to improve your cash flow, this is for you.<br/>
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Pharmacy Owners and operators are facing an ever-increasing problem of drug shortages in America and this problem is both complicating daily workflow as well as impacting patient care. While the average number of drug shortages 20 years ago was around 30 to 40 at any given time, this has now escalated to over 320 in Q1 2024. Pharmacy owners need to understand what causes these shortages and how to adapt their purchasing to meet patient needs. <br/>
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Why do drug shortages exist?<br/>
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Disruptions due to natural disaster/health emergencies<br/>
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Creates an immediate spike in demand<br/>
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Bull-whip effect throws off manufacturer forecasts<br/>
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Examples include:<br/>
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Tamiflu (Oseltamivir) shortages due to local outbreaks<br/>
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Hormonal contraceptive shortages due to hurricanes impacting Puerto Rico<br/>
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Increased product demand<br/>
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Examples:<br/>
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GLP-1 Diabetes/Weight Loss medications<br/>
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Adderall shortages due to changes in prescribing habits<br/>
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Manufacturing/production issues (accounts for 83% of shortages)<br/>
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Supply chain issues<br/>
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Geo-political impacts<br/>
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API quality<br/>
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Examples:<br/>
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Propofol shortages due to EU countries stopping shipments to US for political reasons<br/>
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Chemotherapy shortages due to overseas manufacturing facilities failing API quality standards<br/>
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Mapping the Pharmaceutical supply chain<br/>
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Currently there is no centralized database in the USA that tracks how medications move through the supply chain from API production to final dosage form. This causes difficulty in proactively identifying when shortages occur and quickly adapting to current shortages to shift manufacturing capabilities. Often pharmacies (as well as federal agencies) find out about medication shortages after it is too late.<br/>
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This topic is increasingly attracting attention of pharmacists, policy makers, public health experts and others. A panel hosted by DC publication “The Hill” recently convened experts to discuss the topic: Keeping Pharmacy Shelves Filled, Solutions to Address Drug Shortages<br/>
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Generics are highly affected by shortages<br/>
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Due to the decreasing cost of generics, many manufacturers have shifted production overseas to optimize their profit margins, however, this has caused stress on the FDA to regulate quality of these products. Unfortunately, this race to the bottom on generic pricing has caused many manufacturing facilities to cut corners. When this occurs, quality goes down and facilities get shut down. The result is a shortage of that medication that impacts your patients. The US government is examining how best to bring manufacturing of generic products back into the United States which could improve quality and decrease chances of shortages. <br/>
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How can your pharmacy adapt to these challenges?<br/>
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At InStockRx we understand that most drug shortages are outside of your pharmacy’s control, however, we also understand that you are on the front-line helping patients deal with shortages of critical medications. The informed pharmacy owner can leverage the following tools to minimize shortages and the impact they have on their patients. <br/>
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Inventory Analytics with Smart Alerts: <br/>
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Use technology to generate reports that analyze dispensing habits at your pharmacies to proactively identify increased usage of products and forecast future demand. InStockRx also allows for automated rebalancing of inventory from your pharmacies that are out of stock from those who are overstocked. <br/>
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Pharmacy to Pharmacy Marketplace <br/>
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Leverage the InStockRx Pharmacy to Pharmacy Marketplace to source medications when your wholesalers are out of stock. New features include the ability to “request” a medication from our network of stores if you don’t see it listed on our marketplace. You will then be paired with the selling pharmacy to complete the transaction. <br/>
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Sourcing Quality Products for your Patients<br/>
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InStockRx has leaned into DSCSA requirements for its marketplace to ensure that you have access to quality medications for your patients. It is important to get your patients the medications they need and to ensure they are safe. <br/>
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With these tools provided by InStockRx you will be able to proactively identify medication shortages at your pharmacy and have options available for when you cannot source medications you need from typical wholesalers. <br/>
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Get Started Today<br/>
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Are you ready to experience the best-in-class solution for sourcing out of stock medications? Click here to get started with InStockRx today. <br/>
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by Dr. Alex Toth<br/>
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Dr. Alex Toth is the Owner of Plumsted Pharmacy in New Jersey and Co-Founder of InStockRx.