Today, Michael Ganio, ASHP’s senior director of pharmacy practice and quality, appeared before the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health as it met to discuss legislative proposals to address generic drug shortages.
ASHP’s Drug Shortages List included 309 active, ongoing shortages as of July — the highest number in nearly a decade and close to the all-time high of 320 shortages.
“Without a way for purchasers to identify manufacturers with strong quality systems, there is no financial incentive for manufacturers to invest in quality management,” Ganio told the committee. “A diverse base of high-quality manufacturers and suppliers is critical to solving the drug shortage crisis and ensuring our nation’s healthcare security. This requires solutions in two areas: transparency of quality information and resiliency of production.”
Ganio outlined proposals that ASHP included in its Policy Solutions to Address the Drug Shortage Crisis released this summer. ASHP conducted a survey of its members that showed the severity of the problem, with nearly 60% of respondents reporting critical shortages of chemotherapy drugs.
Read Ganio’s entire testimony and watch the livestreamed hearing.
