FDA Reauthorization Bill will Help Prevent Shortages of Life-Saving Drugs, and Save Jobs
Senator Jay Rockefeller, Chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care, today announced that the Senate passed a bill which included his provision creating a new independent study on tools and training for prescribers of pain killers in order to promote safe pain management while reducing prescription drug abuse.
“The passage of this bill is great news for patients who haven’t been able to get vital medication because of shortages and for biomedical jobs that will be saved throughout the country,” said Rockefeller. “And it takes new steps to tackle prescription drug abuse with my study which will be a jumping off point for making sure prescribers, patients, and the public have the tools they need to better stop abuse.
“Effective pain treatment is absolutely necessary and must be done in a safe and responsible way that doesn’t lead to prescription drug addiction or abuse. Equipped with the right tools, doctors, nurses, and pharmacists will be able to better identify doctor shoppers and make sure they aren’t giving patients more drugs than are absolutely necessary. The bill also includes Senator Manchin’s amendment, which I cosponsored, to make it more difficult to abuse addictive pain killers.”
In addition to Rockefeller’s provision, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reauthorization bill will make sure the FDA continues to study and approve life-saving drugs and medical devices. It will also help establish effective lines of communication among drug makers, the FDA, and doctors, so that the FDA can act more quickly during drug shortages, such as for chemotherapy medication. The bill will also invest in high-tech biomedical industry jobs, and enable to FDA to continue its operations which will impact major employers like Mylan in West Virginia.
