LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The frustration is real for many parents, doctors, and pharmacies as they struggle to fill prescriptions for patients diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder also known as ADHD.
"ADHD is a medical condition that people, kids, and adults alike, are diagnosed with that they either have difficulty concentrating, or have some hyperactivity," Anne Pace said.
Pharmacist like Anne Pace says there's a lot of contributing factors on why Arkansans haven't been able to receive their medicine from their local pharmacies.
"We can't get those prescriptions if there's zero place to get them from and it's not something you can try to search other wholesalers for because since it is scheduled to narcotic we can only get it from who our primary wholesaler," Pace said.
Pace says the ADHD shortage is usually something they see at the end of the year however as the demand grows for more people needing ADHD meds the shortage came sooner this year rather than later.
"Lots more prescriptions have started to be written over the last few years and so lots more prescriptions are being filled, or trying to be filled for this type of medication. It's a stimulant medication, Adderall, Ritalin, Vyvanse those are some of the common names of what people would recognize as medications used to treat this condition and also part of the problem we're noticing is a problem is the DEA only allows these companies that make the medications to produce a certain amount each year," Pace said.
Pace says she works with her patients to try and offer other solutions like similar or generic brands but insurance always plays a huge part and switching patients to different medications is not always the best.
"Kids and people react differently to each one of these medications and once you find one that works, it's really hard and it can be disruptive to switch it around and so we are frustrated, and I know patients are frustrated, the doctors are frustrated, I've talked to them as well. and they are trying to find it because some of these people need the medication to function," Pace said.
Pace says she ask everyone to be patient with them as they work through this difficult time and try their best to get medications those diagnosed need.
The United States Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration sent a letter addressing the medication shortage saying "We are working closely with numerous manufacturers, agencies, and others in the supply chain to understand, prevent, and reduce the impact of these shortages."