HIMSS24 preview: combating counterfeit medication in a well being system

It has grow to be more and more crucial for healthcare executives to observe the pharmaceutical provide chain, primarily as overdose deaths associated to counterfeit tablet use greater than doubled from July-Sept. 2019 to Oct.-Dec. 2021, in line with the CDC.  

The FDA sought to deal with the difficulty by enacting the Drug Provide Chain Safety Act (DSCSA), which went into impact in November. Nonetheless, healthcare executives autonomously want a cohesive technique to observe the pharmaceutical provide chain. 

Gee Mathen, director of pharmacy scientific functions and technical companies at Texas Youngsters’s Hospital, will deal with the difficulty in a session at HIMSS World Convention & Exhibition in Orlando subsequent week entitled, “Combating Counterfeit Medicine and the Drug Provide Chain Safety Act.” 

Mathen shared some highlights of his upcoming session with Our blogNews, and what he hopes attendees will be taught from the dialogue. 

Our blogNews: Are you able to present some highlights of your HIMSS24 session?

Gee Mathen: My session will cowl the subject of how DSCSA will influence the discount of counterfeit medication within the healthcare sector. The session will concentrate on the regulation and the significance of it. The worldwide market has now seen a whole shift into how unhealthy actors can influence affected person care, and the presentation will spotlight how all the course of is impacted from manufacturing to the affected person.

MHN: Are counterfeit medication a giant drawback within the healthcare sector?

Mathen: Counterfeit medication are a severe subject in U.S. healthcare, posing a menace to public well being. Whereas the precise share is unknown, estimates recommend a good portion of the U.S. drug market is infiltrated by counterfeits. 

These faux medicines usually lack important components, rendering them ineffective in treating diseases. In some instances, counterfeit medication include incorrect dosages or dangerous substances, resulting in severe well being problems. 

Past particular person hurt, counterfeit medication additionally trigger financial harm by undermining reliable pharmaceutical companies. The advanced and world nature of counterfeit operations makes it a difficult drawback to deal with. Regardless of efforts to strengthen the U.S. drug provide chain, extra steps should be taken to guard our sufferers.

MHN: How is DSCSA important to making sure affected person security?

Mathen: The Drug Provide Chain Safety Act performs an important position in safeguarding affected person security by establishing a track-and-trace system for prescribed drugs all through all the provide chain. 

This technique permits for the verification of the authenticity and origin of every medicine, serving to to determine and forestall the distribution of counterfeit medication. By implementing stricter safety measures inside the provide chain, DSCSA reduces the danger of sufferers receiving ineffective or dangerous counterfeit medicines. 

Moreover, DSCSA enhances traceability in case of drug remembers, enabling authorities to rapidly and successfully take away compromised medicines from the market. This improved traceability additionally facilitates investigations into counterfeit drug operations, probably resulting in the disruption of those unlawful actions. 

In the end, the act empowers sufferers to have higher confidence within the integrity and security of the prescribed drugs they obtain.

Whereas the implementation of the DSCSA is ongoing, it represents a big step ahead in defending sufferers from the risks of counterfeit medication and selling a safer healthcare setting.

MHN: What do you hope attendees be taught out of your session?

Mathen: I hope the session will give a spotlight of what we realized in our means of monitoring drug provide from manufacturing to the affected person. There shall be insights on how expertise will play an essential position in stopping counterfeit medicines within the system at present.

The 2024 HIMSS World Well being Convention & Exhibition takes place on March 11-15, 2024, in Orlando, Florida. Study extra and register.