Some of the most common medications for ADHD are set to be in short supply until the end of the year, which means plenty of people across Australia may find their pharmacist can't fill their prescriptions.
00:00There's quite a complicated path for ADHD medicines to get to us as prescribers and
00:08consumers in Australia.
00:11It starts in the US, where the raw ingredient for these medications is actually restricted.
00:19The amount that's given to companies who make and sell the medication is restricted by the
00:25DEO.
00:26And what's happened is as the demand for these medications has increased, the supply of
00:33the raw ingredient hasn't.
00:35So the companies that make ADHD or one of the ADHD medications, methylphenidate is its
00:42name, are currently unable to meet the demand.
00:48So not all ADHD drugs are in short supply?
00:51No.
00:52And that's really important.
00:53People shouldn't panic about that.
00:56We have four different types of ADHD medication.
01:00And it's just one of them that is currently in shortage.
01:05That's the medication that's most usually prescribed to children and adolescents.
01:12And as you get older, the type of medication prescribed switches.
01:17So it becomes less of an issue, but still an issue for a large number of Australians, the
01:23older that you get.
01:24Sure.
01:25So what can you do if you can't get your particular medication?
01:29Yeah.
01:30So of the medication that is in shortage, there's more than one brand.
01:36And the different brands have different properties.
01:39So, for example, some of them last for four hours, some for eight hours, some for 12 hours.
01:45Now, most adults, for example, would be on a long-acting medication because that's a lot easier to manage.
01:53It means you don't have to have additional doses during the day.
01:57For them, they may need to switch from one brand to another.
02:02And so it may not change the medication you're taking, but it will change the pattern that you have to take that medication.
02:10And as long as your prescriber, as long as your doctor or nurse who's prescribing understands the medication well, then, although it's less convenient, it shouldn't have a clinical effect on you if you change from one to the other.
02:27Right. So who should people go to, then, if their pharmacist says they're out of a particular drug?
02:31Should people call up their psychiatrist, their GP, the practice nurse, as you say?
02:38So whoever's actually writing the prescription for you, and there's quite a lot of restrictions on who can write prescriptions for different medication.
02:48So the person who's prescribing, the person who's helping you with that medication, the first person you should speak to.
02:56And do you have any indication when this issue may be resolved?
03:00Well, they're telling us December.
03:02We know last year we had one of the other ADHD medications that was problems with availability for quite some time.
03:11When the TGA, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, told us it would be back, it was back.
03:20So I've got my fingers crossed that December is when we're looking at.
03:23But remembering that not all of the different brands are out of stock and it changes over time as to which brands you can and can't get.
03:33So I'm hopeful that most people will not need to change medications.
03:39OK.
03:40Dave Coghill, great to talk to you. Thank you.
