Your Medication Is on Backorder. Now What?

By the Jase Medical Team

You’ve taken the same prescription for eleven years. You request the same refill from the same pharmacy, and this time the technician tells you:

“It’s on backorder. No ETA.”

You ask when it will be available again. The answer is frustratingly vague because, in many cases, nobody knows.

Here’s what makes that more important than it sounds: fewer new drug shortages started in 2025 than in any year since 2006. Just 89 new shortages were reported.

That sounds like great news. But the medications already in shortage are telling a different story. Active shortages remained high because many of them simply aren’t resolving quickly.

From 2018 through 2023, the median drug shortage lasted 2.55 years. For oral medications, the median was 1.59 years. Injectable shortages lasted even longer.

In other words, “backorder” doesn’t necessarily mean “check again next week.”

So what should you actually do when the prescription you depend on isn’t available?

First, Ask What Is Available

When a pharmacy tells you your medication is out of stock, your next question doesn’t have to be only, “When will you get more?”

Ask what options are available now.

Depending on the medication and your individual prescription, your pharmacist and prescriber may be able to explore:

• The same medication from another manufacturer
• Another available strength that your prescriber determines can appropriately provide the prescribed dose
• Another formulation of the medication
• A transfer to another pharmacy that has the medication available
• Another treatment option your prescriber considers appropriate

None of these are substitutions to make yourself. A different strength, formulation, manufacturer, or medication may carry considerations specific to your treatment.

The point is simply to move the conversation from “When will this exact bottle come back?” to “What options do my pharmacist and prescriber have right now?”

What If Another Pharmacy Has Your Prescription?

If another pharmacy has the medication available, ask whether your prescription can be transferred.

The answer depends on the prescription and applicable pharmacy rules, but your pharmacist can tell you what’s possible and what information or involvement from your prescriber may be needed.

If you’re calling other pharmacies, have your medication information in front of you: the exact drug name, strength, current prescription bottle if available, your prescriber’s information, and your regular pharmacy.

And call before driving across town. Medication availability can change quickly, and a pharmacy showing inventory in one system doesn’t necessarily mean the prescription will be fillable when you arrive.

Why Isn’t My Medication on the FDA Drug Shortage List?

Here’s one of the most confusing situations for patients: your pharmacist tells you there’s a shortage, so you search the FDA Drug Shortages database.

Your medication isn’t there.

That doesn’t necessarily mean the pharmacy is wrong.

The FDA and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) don’t maintain identical shortage lists. They use different criteria and collect information differently, with the FDA’s definition generally being narrower.

A medication may therefore be difficult or impossible for your pharmacy to obtain without appearing as an active shortage on the FDA list. Availability can also vary by wholesaler, manufacturer, pharmacy, and region.

So don’t let the absence of your medication from a national database stop the conversation with your pharmacist.

The practical problem is still the same: your prescription isn’t available where you normally fill it.

How Long Do Drug Shortages Actually Last?

This is where today’s shortage landscape changes the way patients should think about “waiting it out.”

Some availability problems are short. A pharmacy may be waiting for its next shipment, another manufacturer may still have product available, or another location may be able to fill the prescription.

But national shortage data shows that many drug shortages can persist much longer.

Across shortages occurring from 2018 through 2023, the median duration was more than two and a half years. Oral drug shortages had a median duration of 1.59 years, while injectable shortages had a median duration of 4.60 years.

That doesn’t tell you how long your medication will be unavailable. It does tell you why an indefinite “check back next week” shouldn’t necessarily be the entire plan.

If the pharmacy can’t give you a clear timeline, ask what the next step should be and whether your prescriber needs to be involved.

The goal is to have that conversation before an uncertain backorder becomes an interruption in your treatment.

Don’t Respond by Trying to Accumulate Medication

Learning that some shortages can last months or years creates an understandable instinct: Maybe I should get as much as I can whenever it’s available.

But this can make shortages worse. When limited medication is accumulated at multiple levels of the system, fewer doses remain available for other patients who need them.

That’s not the kind of preparedness we’re talking about.

Appropriate medical preparation means knowing your medication information, knowing who to call, and understanding your options when normal access changes. It does not mean competing with other patients for a limited medication supply.

Prepare for the Conversation, Not the Shortage

You can’t predict which medication will be on backorder next month. You can make sure you’re not starting from zero if one of yours is.

Keep an updated medication list with the name, strength, dose, prescriber, and pharmacy for every prescription you take. Make sure you know how to reach your prescriber. If you manage medications for a child, parent, or another family member, keep their information accessible too.

Then, if you hear “backorder, no ETA,” you know where to start: ask what is available, whether another pharmacy can fill the prescription, and what options you should discuss with your prescriber.

At Jase Medical, our family team of medical doctors, PAs, and pharmacists calls this appropriate medical preparation. It’s not about replacing primary care or making medication decisions yourself. It’s about being better prepared for the moments when normal healthcare access doesn’t work the way you expected.

Because a drug shortage is a supply-chain problem.

The goal is to address it before it becomes your treatment problem.

The Jase Medical Team is a family team of medical doctors, PAs, and pharmacists focused on appropriate medical preparation: clinically grounded readiness that complements, rather than replaces, the healthcare professionals you already trust.

This article was prepared by the Jase Medical content team for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Prescription requirements, emergency dispensing rules, insurance coverage, and controlled-substance regulations vary by medication, jurisdiction, and individual circumstances. Consult a licensed healthcare provider or pharmacist regarding your specific medications.