Shannon Burrows, pharmacist at Wickstead Pharmacy (Wanganui) and Eliza Pharmacy (Waverley) said the shortages made filling prescriptions difficult and in some cases more expensive.
She said patients will find their medications are not available when they arrive and will have to change brands or formulations.
“It doesn’t work for everyone and it’s very hard to give everyone what they need or want, because we just don’t have the supplies.”
Pharmac’s chief medical officer, Dr. David Hughes, said ADHD medications differ in how they work and affect people in different ways.
Burrows said some patients can easily switch while others struggle with side effects.
Burroughs said the constant turnover made it more complicated for pharmacists to keep track of patient records.
“The supply of something will go out, and then something else will come back, and then something else will go out.”
Depending on their medical practice’s policy, patients sometimes have to pay twice to have their prescriptions refilled, even when supply issues are to blame.
“It was an ongoing story.”
Unichem Whanganui pharmacist Melina Holmes said “now is probably the best” since the shortage began.
Only one brand is currently mostly out of stock and a new brand was registered in New Zealand late last year.
Holmes said the biggest obstacle to helping patients around the shortage was the pharmaceutical funding system.
“It’s a very old, archaic system,” she said.
Funding for the drug is approved by Pharmac, which issues a patient funding number. In New Zealand, half of the ADHD medications are in one category and half in the other.
If a patient needs to switch between brands on separate numbers, the pharmacist must contact the prescriber, who will then request a different number on the patient’s behalf.
“It just causes a delay for people getting their medicine,” Holmes said.
She said Pharmac tried to address the issue at the height of the shortage by giving all patients both numbers but from her experience, “it doesn’t happen for everyone”.
She said her pharmacy was still dealing with patients who only had a few.
Restrictive laws surrounding ADHD medications, due to their classification as controlled drugs, also make it harder to help patients, including how much can be issued at one time and a shorter timeframe for filling prescriptions before they expire.
Demand for ADHD drugs has increased globally over the past two decades.
Burrows said over the past eight years she had seen a significant increase in ADHD patients in Whanganui and Waverly.
According to ADHD New Zealand, one in 20 Kiwis have ADHD.
Much of the increase is due to increased awareness and understanding of the condition.
Until the late 2000s, it was thought to only affect children.
Modern research shows that this is a lifelong condition and symptoms may change or become less pronounced over time. According to ADHD New Zealand less than 20% of adults with ADHD are diagnosed and receive care.
Women and minority groups have historically been significantly underdiagnosed at every age.
Global supply has not kept pace with the growing demand for treatment.
From February 1, changes to New Zealand’s prescribing laws have enabled more doctors to write ADHD prescriptions, aiming to improve access.
Specialist general practitioners and nurses can now write ADHD prescriptions for patients over 18.
Holmes said the changes to the law were good, but more improvements could be made.
Hughes said Pharmac is working “actively” to acquire more stock. It funded two new chronic ADHD medications late last year.
Patients who struggle to get their medication at their regular pharmacy should try other locations or contact their clinic for advice, Pharmac said.
Erin Smith is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.
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