une 18, 2013
AMA Adopts New Policies on Second Day of Voting at Annual Meeting
For immediate release:
June 18, 2013
June 18, 2013
CHICAGO – The American Medical Association (AMA), the nation’s largest physician organization, voted today during its Annual Meeting to adopt the following new policies on emerging issues in public health and science:
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Pharmacy Compounding Safety
Traditional pharmacy compounding involves the act of combining, mixing or altering ingredients to prepare a customized medication for an individual patient. However, the compounding industry has evolved over the past 20 years to include high capacity, industrialized practices involving batch production. The AMA today adopted new policy recommending that traditional compounding pharmacies be subject to state board of pharmacy oversight. It also supports FDA oversight and regulation of facilities that compound sterile drug products without receiving a prescription order prior to compounding and introducing these drugs into interstate commerce.
Traditional pharmacy compounding involves the act of combining, mixing or altering ingredients to prepare a customized medication for an individual patient. However, the compounding industry has evolved over the past 20 years to include high capacity, industrialized practices involving batch production. The AMA today adopted new policy recommending that traditional compounding pharmacies be subject to state board of pharmacy oversight. It also supports FDA oversight and regulation of facilities that compound sterile drug products without receiving a prescription order prior to compounding and introducing these drugs into interstate commerce.
“As the recent fungal meningitis outbreak linked to non-sterile injectables illustrates, there are real concerns about the safety of pharmacy compounding practices,” said Dr. Kobler. “Expanding oversight and regulation of these compounding practices will help better protect public health and ensure patient safety and access.”