Shutdown delays drug-tracking and federal regulation of compounding bill; bill was suppose to pass Wednesday night but now the bill is expected to pass later this month

By Suzanne Gaber
Herald Staff Writer

WASHINGTON – The Drug Traceability Act was expected to pass with unanimous consent Wednesday night in the Senate. But because of the focus on the debt limit, its passage is expected later this month, according to a spokesman for Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo.

The act, sponsored by Bennet, would create a uniform barcode system nationwide to track each individual bottle of medication.

“Right now, it is easier to track a gallon of milk using their barcodes than it is to track medication,” said Bennet’s spokesman, Adam Bozzi.

In Colorado, fruit also can be tracked more efficiently than medication, according to Bennet.

“If fruit growers in Colorado can track a peach from the tree to the grocery store, we should be able to monitor prescription drugs in a similar way,” Bennet said in a news release. “Whether it is through a stronger supply chain or better oversight for compounded drugs, this commonsense bill will help restore confidence in our prescription drugs and protect our families from any potential health risks.”

The goal of this act, according to Bozzi, is to instate a similar tracking system on medication.

The act would call for a 10-year transition to an electronic system that would place a barcode tracker on each individual drug package.

The package could then be tracked from its original place of manufacture, to the packaging, transportation and final destination of sale. This system would make recalls more efficient and timely, Bozzi said.

Durango pharmacist Jennifer Sandoval with the south City Market pharmacy said she has not experienced a major crisis with the recall of medication, but the act will likely help lessen possible human error.

“It would prevent oversights by pharmacists when going through recalls,” she said.

Such oversights could be lethal. One outbreak of meningitis in 2012 has been linked to 53 deaths in New England.

The new law may not have much effect on larger corporations, such as Rite Aid, according to Durango Rite Aid pharmacist Paige Kapp.

“Most of our medications already follow the barcode system,” she said. “I think in terms of larger corporations, it is just cheaper, on top of the health aspect, to have the barcode system in place.”

Suzanne Gaber is a student at American University in Washington, D.C., and an intern for The Durango Herald. She can be reached at sgaber@durangoherald.com.

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