ASHP Statement on the Mitigating Emergency Drug Shortages Act

ASHP (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists) CEO Paul W. Abramowitz, Pharm.D., Sc.D. (Hon.), FASHP, today issued the following statement regarding the introduction of the Mitigating Emergency Drug Shortages (MEDS) Act.

“The ongoing shortages of vital, life-saving medications continue to jeopardize patient care in the United States. Pharmacists and other healthcare providers struggle to obtain reliable supplies of essential medications, resulting in delay or prevention of treatment, serious harm to patients, and unnecessary added costs to our healthcare system.

We strongly support the MEDS Act as an important step toward ending drug shortages and believe that it will achieve lasting solutions, including requiring manufacturers to be transparent about causes of drug shortages and sources of active pharmaceutical ingredients while also establishing contingency plans to maintain supplies in the event of manufacturing disruptions.

We look forward to continuing to work with Congress to support meaningful, actionable solutions that will provide patients the safest, most effective medications they need, when they need them.”

For nearly 20 years, ASHP has led efforts to find solutions to minimize and prevent drug shortages. The organization works closely with officials in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Drug Shortages Program and collaborates with the University of Utah Drug Information Service to track drugs in short supply. The ASHP Drug Shortages Resource Center features recommendations for managing current inventory and, when available, recommendations for alternative therapies.

About ASHP
ASHP represents pharmacists who serve as patient care providers in acute and ambulatory settings. The organization’s nearly 50,000 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.