ASHP to Attend FDA Drug Shortages Meeting, Participate in Panel

Panel Discussions to Focus on Impacts of Drug Shortages on Systems & Patients

ASHP today announced it will participate in a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) public meeting on the impacts of drug shortages on Tuesday, Nov. 27, in Washington, D.C., titled “Identifying the Root Causes of Drug Shortages and Finding Enduring Solutions.” The meeting will feature keynote remarks by FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb as well as several panel discussions on policy solutions.

Michael Ganio, Pharm.D., M.S., BCPS, CPHIMS, FASHP, ASHP’s Director of Pharmacy Practice and Quality, will represent ASHP on a panel titled “The Drivers, Health Impacts, and Economic Consequences of Drug Shortages,” where he will comment on how shortages are impacting patients, health systems, and healthcare practitioners.

“Drug shortages harm patients and disrupt the entire healthcare system, and identifying and actively advocating for ways to prevent them is a top priority for ASHP,” said ASHP CEO Paul W. Abramowitz, Pharm.D., Sc.D. (Hon.), FASHP. “ASHP has been a longstanding leader on addressing drug shortages and finding solutions to prevent them by providing a free drug shortages resource center, hosting interdisciplinary summits, developing guidelines and education, and through assertive advocacy to government and other stakeholders. We are completely committed to working with the FDA and all other stakeholders to help ensure that patients have access to the medications they need when they need them, and we are hopeful that tomorrow’s meeting with the FDA will be a significant step in the right direction.”

On September 20, ASHP co-convened an invitation-only summit of healthcare leaders: “Drug Shortages as a Matter of National Security: Improving the Resilience of the Nation’s Healthcare Critical Infrastructure.” Convened by ASHP, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), the American Hospital Association (AHA), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), the summit examined vulnerabilities in the supply chain, U.S. dependence on foreign-sourced pharmaceutical ingredients, disaster planning and response efforts, and risk factors associated with pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution. Key outcomes from the summit will be shared by ASHP and its partners during tomorrow’s FDA public meeting.

Also in September, ASHP participated in the first of six listening sessions at FDA’s headquarters. The listening session, which was held in preparation for tomorrow’s public meeting, focused generally on an overview of ASHP’s and other stakeholders’ work on shortages with an emphasis on identifying policy solutions.

To learn more about ASHP’s efforts to address drug shortages, escalating drug prices, and other critical pharmacy practice issues, visit ASHP’s website.

About ASHP
ASHP represents pharmacists who serve as patient care providers in acute and ambulatory settings. The organization’s 45,000 members include pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians. For more than 75 years, ASHP has been at the forefront of efforts to improve medication use and enhance patient safety. For more information about the wide array of ASHP activities and the many ways in which pharmacists advance healthcare, visit ASHP’s website, www.ashp.org, or its consumer website, www.SafeMedication.com.