Adult Tylenol is next up in the list of supply chain issues for London pharmacies

Pharmacists in London now have more options when it comes to prescribing medication for minor ailments, but owners say they're now dealing with a shortage of pain and fever medication for both children and adults.

Since last August, pharmacies across Canada have been hit with shortages of children's acetaminophen (commonly branded as Tylenol) and ibuprofen (branded as Advil), which have sold out faster than they can be stocked.

Now, adult Tylenol supplies are at risk, according to Scott Coulter, pharmacist and owner of Coulter Pharmacy & Home Health Care.

"It's challenging," he said.

Other provinces are also seeing shortages extend to adult medications as cold and flu season continues to impact Canadians harder than usual.  

To make up for the lack of children's Tylenol, pharmacists and parents have been using the adult form to create smaller doses, pharmacists say, breaking up pills and compounding the doses.

"What we typically see with shortages is one shortage creates another," said Justin Bates, CEO of the Ontario Pharmacists Association.

"I don't see this solving itself in the next few weeks. I do believe we'll probably have challenges in our supply chain for these products throughout the winter," he added.

Shipments of children's pain and fever medication trickled into pharmacies last month after the federal government secured a million bottles from foreign suppliers.

That hasn't stopped pharmacies from reaching out to each other when supplies run out, said Mina Abdelsayed, director of operations at London Medical Pharmacy.

"It's being allocated to pharmacies, so you can't just get exactly what you need," he said. "Things have slightly eased up, now that the government has put some into the system."

This week, the province announced new prescribing powers to pharmacists, as part of a move to reduce the load on primary care physicians and emergency rooms hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and a surge in viral illnesses.

Ontario is the second last province to provide the service. London pharmacists aren't concerned that shortages will further stress supplies in areas covered by the new prescribing powers for minor ailments. 

"For the uncomplicated ailment, we can prescribe something. So it's good for patients who don't always have access to primary care professionals," Proudfoot Pharmacy owner Nivin Mehanni said.

"It's frustrating for sure not to have things on hand yet," she added.