WASHINTON, D.C.—In response to the report from the inter-agency Drug Shortages Task Force, “Drug Shortages: Root Causes and Potential Solutions,” released by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the American College of Emergency Physician (ACEP) issued the following statement:

“The report from the Drug Shortages Task Force, ‘Drug Shortages: Root Causes and Potential Solutions’, provides a solid foundation for legislative action, and we look forward to working with Congress and other stakeholders to begin translating the agency’s insight and recommendations into meaningful change.

In 2018, ACEP worked with congressional champions to develop a letter to the FDA calling for the creation of the Task Force to determine the root causes of drug shortages and develop recommendations for Congress. We were gratified that the FDA moved quickly to form this Task Force shortly thereafter, and throughout the development of its report, ACEP participated in several meetings with the FDA and submitted comments in January 2019 in response to the FDA’s November 2018 public meeting. We are pleased to now see that several ACEP priorities are highlighted in the report, including the need to provide greater transparency to ensure adequate competition in the marketplace, and better supply chain monitoring and response to guarantee the availability of lifesaving emergency medications.

Emergency physicians and patients are directly affected by shortages of critical medications every day and more needs to be done to ensure patients have access to the medications they rely on in an emergency.”