Fran Beall, a nurse practitioner in Athens, prescribed a seven-day supply of doxycycline, a dependable antibiotic that’s long been generic and inexpensive.
Shortly thereafter, a pharmacist called Beall and asked if she could prescribe another antibiotic for the young man, because he had no insurance.
“Why?” Beall asked. “He can’t afford $5?”
“It’s not $5,’’ the pharmacist replied. “It’s $157.’’
Beall called another pharmacist she knew. The cost there was $135. “There’s a big shortage of doxycycline,’’ the pharmacist told her.
Those high prices for doxycycline hyclate stunned Beall, who has been a nurse practitioner for 38 years. She told GHN that for a long time, the drug was easily available and typically cost $4 or $5. In fact, she said, “just a year ago it was even free at the local Publix pharmacy.”
Doxycycline is not the only drug in short supply. Shortages of dozens of critical drugs have persisted in the United States in recent years, with manufacturing problems cited as a major reason. Some of the drugs in limited supply include anesthetics, chemotherapeutic agents, antibiotics, painkillers and intravenous solutions.
For more of this article visit http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/health/2013-10-21/drug-shortages-price-spikes-affecting-care?v=1382369163
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