If you take a medically necessary drug on a daily basis, you may be alarmed to discover that your medication was recently listed on the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s database of drug shortages. What does a national drug shortage mean for you, and what are your options going forward? Read on to learn more about the FDA's drug shortage database, including information on some of the potential side effects you may want to prepare yourself for if you switch to an alternative medication. You also need to know your legal rights when facing the unavailability of a drug you need to maintain your quality of life.

What must happen for a drug to be placed on the FDA's drug shortage list? 

The FDA is in constant communication with drug manufacturers and requests notification whenever a manufacturer finds itself dealing with a shipping delay, drug discontinuation, the unavailability of a crucial ingredient, or other factors that could slow (or even stop) the delivery of a medically necessary product to pharmacies around the country. Once this notification is received, the FDA will add information about this drug to its database and regularly update this entry to give information about its future availability. Generally, drugs won't be added to this database if they're expected to be unavailable only for a short period of time. 

What are your rights if your drug is no longer available? 

You may wonder whether you have any recourse if you've been told your normal drug isn't available. Because many of the disruptions in the supply and manufacturing chain are not due to the fault of any one individual (or even company), it's unlikely you'll be able to sue or recover financial damages if there's an interruption in the supply of your medically necessary medication. On the other hand, if your drug has been taken off the market or made unavailable due to attributable negligence, you may be able to file a civil lawsuit if you can show that switching to a new drug caused you health issues or other compensable damages. 

If filing a lawsuit isn't a feasible option (or if you'd rather just find a way to get back to your original formula and stop dealing with strange side effects), you may want to investigate the services of a compounding pharmacy. These pharmacies can essentially reverse-engineer your drug, creating a version that has the same components in the same dosages as your original medication and is available even when your normal medication is off the market. Utilizing a compounding pharmacy, like Camelback Compounding Pharmacy, can help you minimize the side effects you may experience and get you through a temporary (or extended) drug shortage.