{"id":19551,"date":"2025-07-24T22:07:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T22:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/19551\/"},"modified":"2025-07-24T22:07:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T22:07:11","slug":"canada-is-facing-a-nationwide-shortage-of-these-prescription-painkillers-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/19551\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada is facing a nationwide shortage of these prescription painkillers &#8211; National"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A national shortage of common prescription pain medications in Canada could last into early August.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/70c8fc80.png\" alt=\"\" style=\"position:absolute;width:1px;height:1px\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Health Canada issued<a href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/health-canada\/services\/drugs-health-products\/drug-products\/drug-shortages\/information-consumers\/supply-notices\/acetaminophen-codeine-oxycodone.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"> a notice last week<\/a> that drugs containing <a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/tag\/acetaminophen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">acetaminophen<\/a> with codeine or oxycodone that are used to relieve pain are experiencing shortages.<\/p>\n<p>Acetaminophen with oxycodone is often under the brand <a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/tag\/percocet\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Percocet<\/a>, while acetaminophen combined with codeine is sometimes known as <a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/tag\/tylenol\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Tylenol<\/a> No. 3.<\/p>\n<p>Other formulations include Teva-Oxycocet, Teva-Lenoltic No. 1, 2, 3 and 4, and Rivacocet.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the companies that manufacture both medication combinations, including Teva Canada Ltd., Laboratoire Riva Inc. and Pharmascience Inc., have reported issues around manufacturing disruptions and increased demands as causes of the shortages.<\/p>\n<p>The Canadian Pharmacists Association told Global News it\u2019s been working with Health Canada and is in communication with manufacturers and suppliers to assess the potential impact.<\/p>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-video__image\" alt=\"Click to play video: 'Another health care hurdle Prescription medication shortages'\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Another_health-care_hurdle_Prescription_medication_shortage.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\"   data-\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2:21<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAnother health care hurdle Prescription medication shortages\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>In response to the shortages, the CPA said pharmacists have been limiting amounts given to patients.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"170\" height=\"225\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/healthiq.jpg\" alt=\"Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday.\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tGet weekly health news<\/p>\n<p>Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUsually pharmacists have to dispense the amount that is being written on the prescription unless it is being limited by the drug plan,\u201d said Sadaf Faisal, senior director of professional affairs at the CPA.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn a situation like these, pharmacists are documenting on their prescriptions that we are only supplying 30 days right now because we don\u2019t have enough supply.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She said some pharmacists are also seeking out supplies from other pharmacies.<\/p>\n<p>According to the association, the shortages are expected to last until early August, when a \u201csignificant resupply\u201d is anticipated.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tWhat Canadians can do if impacted\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\tTrending Now\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11300418\/french-president-emmanuel-macron-sues-candace-owens-defamation\/\" class=\"c-posts__inner\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-posts__thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/macron-owens.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"336\" height=\"224\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\tFrance\u2019s Macron sues U.S. media personality for claiming his wife is a man\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11300979\/bryan-kohberger-sentencing-victim-impact-statments-alivea-goncalves\/\" class=\"c-posts__inner\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-posts__thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Untitled-design-3.png\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"336\" height=\"224\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\u2018Psychopath\u2019: Victim\u2019s sister tears into killer Bryan Kohberger at sentencing\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In its notice, Health Canada said that as the shortage continues, Canadians should speak with their doctor or pharmacist if they have concerns about the availability of either medication.<\/p>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<p>It says they may be able to offer other options if their specific medication is not available.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPharmacists and other health-care providers can help them (patients) navigate this shortage,\u201d Faisal said. \u201cWe can identify alternatives, we can provide guidance on safe and effective pain management, which is really important because it can impact quality of life for a lot of patients.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Faisal does caution, however, that due to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, pharmacists cannot change the prescription or offer an alternative without consulting the physician to approve the suggestion.<\/p>\n<p>While the shortage may end within a few weeks, Health Canada is also urging Canadians to only use a licensed pharmacy to get medication and only buy products authorized for sale in Canada.<\/p>\n<p>It also advises people to avoid buying from unlicensed and unverified online sellers, as the products may not contain the active ingredient or contain undeclared and hazardous ingredients.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tMore on Health<br \/>\n\t\t\tMore videos\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t&amp;copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A national shortage of common prescription pain medications in Canada could last into early August. Health Canada issued&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19552,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[20459,64,63,2065,2165,137,490,20460,4049],"class_list":{"0":"post-19551","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-acetaminophen","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-canada","12":"tag-drug-shortage","13":"tag-health","14":"tag-medication","15":"tag-percocet","16":"tag-tylenol"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19551"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19551\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}