BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Over the past few years, supply chain issues and worker shortages have made it hard to find some common household items.
Now, the medical world is experiencing such shortages, with certain over-the-counter and prescription medicines becoming scarce.
Children’s pain medication and amoxicillin are the latest drugs to be in short supply, but for months other prescriptions — such as the ADHD medication Adderall and diabetes-turned-weight loss treatments such as Wegovy, Ozempic, Trulicity and Mounjaro — also have been hard to get.
- Certain over-the-counter and prescription medicines are becoming scarce
- A Lehigh Valley doctor said that in most cases, it's because of high demand
- He advises patients to be their own advocates and call around to different pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies
“What we're doing from our office is calling a lot of pharmacies for our patients," said Dr. Michael Carnathan, who runs Arrow Primary Care in Bethlehem.
"But we're also asking patients to call around, especially using the more independent pharmacies. Some people forget that the more independent mom-and-pop-type pharmacies exist.”
Be your own advocate
Carnathan, a primary care physician, said the best way for patients to get what they need is to be their own advocates.
"That means calling your doctors, calling the pharmacies, talking to pharmaceutical companies and getting some answers if you're having some troubles,” Carnathan said.
"That means calling your doctors, calling the pharmacies, talking to pharmaceutical companies and getting some answers if you're having some troubles.”Michael Carnathan, doctor of Arrow Primary Care
Pharmacist Robert Kimmey from Emmaus Drugstore said it’s hard to find the liquid form of children’s amoxicillin as well.
"Over-the-counter we cannot touch children's ibuprofen or children's Tylenol,” Kimmey said.
Emmaus Drugstore is a local pharmacy and Kimmey said he’s been able to find what his patients need, but it’s getting harder.
He said new patients are calling in looking for prescriptions, such as the medication prescribed for diabetes and now weight loss, but he said he first has to serve the patients he already has.
Kimmey said he’s constantly in contact with pharmaceutical companies, wholesalers and local doctors.
"We reach out to the doctor," he said. "If there's an alternative that the doctors are okay with, we will switch if we can get it.
“We also keep an eye on these medicines every single day, so if I see them become available, I can order them right away.”
Pharmacists join the hunt
Carnathan said he’s had to take that same route to find his patients different meds.
“There are sometimes alternatives to their prescriptions and we will work with them on that," he said. "So we, a lot of times, educate them that maybe if we can get your prescription for this month, we can use a different medicine that works similarly, but not exactly the same.”
He went on to explain that an early cold and flu season affected the supply of children's over-the-counter medicine.
“We got hit with flu, COVID, RSV, amongst others, four to eight weeks earlier than we typically would,” Carnathan said.
He said with other prescriptions, there is such a high demand for weight loss medications that pharmaceutical companies cannot keep up, while others are stockpiling until they can meet the demand.
The doctor said the hope is that manufacturing delays and workers shortages causing the lapse in medications will be resolved early this year.
