American Pharmacy Hero In Action During Medication Shortage
As most parents already know, the last several months have been challenging for both themselves and their families, as well as for their local pharmacy's staff due to the current shortages of drugs being seen across the USA. Medicines that are sorely needed for the treatment of numerous sick patients are in short supply, and primary examples include the antibiotic amoxicillin, the antiviral Tamiflu, plus several other children's medications. Particularly hit hard by this medication shortage are the liquid formulations that are oftentimes critical for the treatment of small children and infants, such as Tylenol (acetaminophen) and Motrin (ibuprofen) liquid formulations. Many pharmacists initially saw the shortage beginning to take place early this past August. Yet now, at a time when the nation is experiencing an extreme increase in cases of upper respiratory infections, pneumonia, strep throat, plus ear and sinus infections, patients that are needing these medicines and/or "kiddie" formulations are finding it increasingly hard to find them due to the overwhelming public demand that currently exists.
An American Pharmacy Hero In Springfield, Missouri
The current medication shortage, in addition to the numerous other challenges that the entire pharmacy profession is facing (such as the current pharmacy staffing shortages of both pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, the evolving changes and expansion of a pharmacist's job roles and duties, the "skyrocketing" costs for certain medications, and the decreased insurance drug reimbursements for prescriptions dispensed as examples), has led to the emergence of many "Pharmacy Heroes" throughout the American healthcare system. Showing their ingenuity, dedication, energy, and willingness to help solve the problems that pharmacy faces, these American Pharmacy Heroes come in all different "sizes & shapes'', inclusive of race, ethnic heritage, age, sex, educational background, work environment, or geographical location. From small communities & towns throughout rural America, to the large metropolitan cities, these emerging American Pharmacy Heroes are helping us all to face the existing problems and challenges through their innovation, courage, and "good old American ingenuity"!
A good example is Amanda Owens, a pharmacist at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Missouri. Although not considered a "major"metropolitan area, Springfield is the third largest city in Missouri (Kansas City being the largest and St. Louis being the second largest Missouri city) with a population of nearly 170,000 according to the 2020 US census results. Located in the Southwestern corner of the state, neighboring cities include Branson, Joplin, Jefferson City and Rolla, plus the beautiful Mark Twain National Forest, and Springfield is actually the fastest growing metropolitan area in the entire State of Missouri. Nicknamed as the "Queen City of the Ozarks", it's also known as the "Birthplace of Route 66". It is home to several universities and colleges, including Missouri State University, Drury University, and Evangel University. The city is an important center of education and medical care, with two large hospitals (CoxHealth and Mercy) employing over 20,000 people combined, and being the largest employers in that region of Missouri.
What Amanda Owens Accomplished as an American Pharmacy Hero in Springfield, Missouri
As the medication shortage started to take hold, Ms. Owens became aware that certain "kid’s" medicines were becoming extremely hard to find and obtain from her local suppliers or from anyone else. Especially disconcerting to Owens was the growing list of child and infant antibiotics that were becoming next to impossible to get or keep in stock at adequate levels to treat the hospital's growing demand for the medications. Watching as the medication shortages persisted, while simultaneously the demand seemed to increase almost exponentially, Ms.Owens decided to take action.
Initially, her efforts revolved around getting as much of a medication from her local suppliers as was possible. Owens would get to the job earlier and earlier each day to check what was available from her suppliers, and stated that "I go sign in and I may be able to snag one or two before it’s not available again”. Not one to give up easily, Owens would then continue checking regularly throughout the day. When the morning would prove futile as it passed with no luck finding a medication in short supply, she kept up her optimistic attitude and told everyone that, although when she checked all morning there was nothing in stock, "I may be lucky this afternoon when I check, I might be able to get one bottle”.
Yet as the supply shortage persisted and it became increasingly difficult to find child and infant antibiotics, it soon became obvious that her efforts were falling well short of the hospital's needs. Wait times for drugs to become available again can be very random sometimes, so Owens had no way of knowing or predicting when a certain medicine would come in and be available again from her suppliers. Having kids herself, Owens stated that she doesn’t want to have to wait for the medicine to become available either. With the true spirit of an American Pharmacy Hero, Owens turned her attention and efforts in another direction in order to obtain the medications that were so desperately needed to treat Mercy's patients.
The solution, Owens says, was to get creative! Under her guidance and leadership, the hospital's pharmacy began to ramp up its compounding capabilities, and before long the pharmacy had become increasingly proficient at "producing" some of the formulations that they simply couldn't purchase elsewhere. Starting out initially with infant ibuprofen and Tylenol liquid formulations, the pharmacy then continued to rapidly expand their compounding "repertoire", dealing not only with the shortage issues, but with other important pharmacy matters such as improving patient medication compliance by making certain medications more palatable. “We take a tablet form of something and crush it up,” said Owens during a recent interview with the Springfield local news channel. “Or we can open up a capsule and sprinkle it with some applesauce or pudding.”
Even though still struggling with the existing and expanding medication shortages, in addition to the numerous other pressures that the entire pharmacy profession is also facing, Owens still loves practicing her profession and optimistically sees a bright future for both the pharmacy profession and herself. Owens remains positive that as the existing challenges are overcome and improvements are made, the result will be better healthcare for all. In the meanwhile, Owens sent a message to everyone that's affected by the current medication and staffing shortages seen across the nation when interviewed by the local news station: “Don’t take it out on the pharmacy,” said Owens. “I know your kiddos are sick. I know they’re hurting. I know you want them better. We want that for them too.” With numerous heroes like Amanda at work across the USA on the problems, many have hope that the future for the entire profession of pharmacy here in America will only continue to shine brightly!
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