Another U.S. congressman has boarded the drug-supply bandwagon. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut has asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate recent and growing shortages.
His request follows last month's legislation proposal by Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania that would require drugmakers to give the FDA early notice of supply interruptions.
Blumenthal sees a need for stronger action, according to the Hartford Courant. He wants GAO to determine what causes the shortages and how they affect patient care. His office, meanwhile, will look into pharma's knowledge of impending shortages and its responsibility to maintain adequate supplies. He plans also to investigate the timing of pharma shortage alerts to hospitals.
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- here's more on the Klobuchar/Casey effort