PSM Supports HR 1919, ‘Safeguarding America’s Pharmaceuticals Act’
Dear Speaker Boehner and Chairman Upton:
On behalf of the Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM), we write today in strong support of H.R.
1919, the “Safeguarding America’s Pharmaceuticals Act”.
PSM is a not for profit, consumer focused organization that seeks to
keep Americans safe from counterfeit drugs through patient and healthcare
provider education and awareness. In
the US we work with a coalition of over 70 healthcare professional and patient
groups to improve patients’ and their
healthcare providers’ knowledge about where they obtain their medication, how
they can save money safely, and how to safely identify licensed pharmaceutical
distributors.
PSM strongly supports the creation of a national uniform track and trace
or pedigree system that would allow all participants in the supply chain to
verify a product’s history of sale.
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The Honorable Frederick Stephen Upton Chairman Committee on Energy and Commerce 2125 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 |
The Honorable John Boehner Office of the Speaker H-232 The Capitol Washington, D.C. 20515
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May 21, 2013
Dear Speaker Boehner and Chairman Upton:
On behalf of the Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM), we write today in strong support of H.R.
1919, the “Safeguarding America’s Pharmaceuticals Act”.
PSM is a not for profit, consumer focused organization that seeks to
keep Americans safe from counterfeit drugs through patient and healthcare
provider education and awareness. In
the US we work with a coalition of over 70 healthcare professional and patient
groups to improve patients’ and their
healthcare providers’ knowledge about where they obtain their medication, how
they can save money safely, and how to safely identify licensed pharmaceutical
distributors.
PSM strongly supports the creation of a national uniform track and trace
or pedigree system that would allow all participants in the supply chain to
verify a product’s history of sale.
Today, our system of prescription drug distribution heavily relies on
trusting the entity you’re dealing with and their judgment. If a mistake is made, or anyone farther back
in the supply chain makes a mistake in purchasing a substandard drug product,
there is no ability for a good actor down the line to know this. Criminals have taken advantage of this fact,
and such incidents are growing in number every year. Life-saving medications that treat
osteoporosis, cancer, heart disease, and many other serious medical conditions
have been faked just in the last few years, as the rules of the road have
failed to keep up with the innovative nature of the criminals that prey on
American patients.
The Partnership for Safe Medicines has been working to educate
healthcare professionals about the dangers of counterfeit drugs since 2002, and
is grateful that legislation to secure the supply chain is now being
considered. We thank you for your
leadership is making more patients safer, and we look forward to working with
you to advance the goal of making all Americans safer from counterfeit drugs.
Respectfully,
Marvin D. Shepherd
President, Partnership for Safe Medicines
Professor of Health Outcomes and Pharmacy Practice
Director, Center for Pharmacoeconomic Studies, College of Pharmacy
University of Texas-Austin
Bryan A. Liang
Board of Directors, Partnership for Safe Medicines
E. Donald Shapiro Distinguished Professor
Executive Director, Institute of Health Law Studies
California Western School of Law
Professor of Anesthesiology
Director, San Diego Center for Patient Safety
University of California San Diego School of Medicine
Tom Kubic
Board of Directors, Partnership for Safe Medicines
President and CEO, Pharmaceutical Security Institute, Inc.