If you’ve been taking stimulants for a while, you’ll remember the initial major shortage that started in October 2022. The initial shortage stemmed from a combination of factors, including delays in manufacturing, regulatory issues, and an increase in patients prescribed Methylphenidate. While the severity of the initial shortage has lessened, there continue to be issues with Methylphenidate (and alternatives to Methylphenidate) supply. People are constantly wondering why, so we figured we’d cover the basics.Â
Plus, we’ve got a few tips for finding Methylphenidate in stock.Â
For the full guide on how to find Methylphenidate in stock near you, click here!‍
There are tons of reasons that Methylphenidate is difficult to find. We’ll try to keep this overview brief but informative.Â
Manufacturing delays and DEA production limits have caused a lot of difficulty in ensuring access to this medication. While the number of ADHD diagnoses continues to grow, the cap on production limits by the DEA remains the same. It is likely that even if manufacturers never had delays, the production limit cap placed by the DEA would likely still make Methylphenidate difficult to find near you.
In recent years, the demand for ADHD medications like Methylphenidate has grown significantly, outpacing the DEA production cap and creating widespread shortages. In the last 10 years, ADHD diagnoses are estimated to have increased by around 34% in the U.S., while the production caps haven't increased by much at all.
We know it's easy to always blame the pharmacy - but it's not just on them! Pharmacies have limits on the number of controlled substances they are able to order, and also have limits on the number of controlled substance scripts that they are able to fill. Oftentimes, pharmacies are able to get medication in stock, but aren't always able to take on more patients for a controlled substance like Methylphenidate.
When you pick up a medication that is covered by your insurance, your pharmacy sends out a claim to your insurance company, and your insurance company pays the pharmacy a pre-negotiated rate for that medication that is specific to your health plan.
Many medications, including many stimulants like Methylphenidate, are what we call Under-Reimbursed - meaning that the price the pharmacy had to pay to purchase the medications is nearly the same amount (or more) than what they are making by dispensing the medication. Pharmacies actually lose money on prescriptions more often than you would think, and even when they do make money, they don't always make much.
At the end of the day, a pharmacy is still a business, and they have to make money to stay alive. So when drugs are under-reimbursed, they are far more hesitant to stock and dispense them.
This creates false scarcity for a lot of medications like Methylphenidate. It's not always just that a pharmacy can't get a medication, but they often make a business decision not to purchase a medication because they know they will lose money if they offer it to patients.
We know navigating pharmacies is complicated, and we’re here to be your guide! Simply put, these are the ongoing reasons Methylphenidate and alternatives are hard to find:Â
Finding Methylphenidate (or any other prescription) doesn't have to be so stressful. With tools like Medfinder and a better understanding of how the pharmacy system works, you can cut down the stress and the phone calls, and keep yourself on track with your treatment.Â
If you’d like our guide on finding Methylphenidate, click here.
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