I started writing RxTrace seven years ago on July 4, 2009 (see “Welcome to rxTrace”). Not much has changed in my goals since then. My interests still revolve around the intersection between the healthcare supply chains, track and trace technology, standards and global regulatory compliance. I still like exploring ideas, including those that might not be mainstream yet. My only regret is that people do not respond with their own thoughts and ideas as often as I had hoped. I had hoped that RxTrace would become a conduit for refining ideas until they are less rough, more pure and usable.
As many of you know, I began to charge for access to RxTrace over the last year (see “The Future of RxTrace Has Arrived“). To continue justifying the time it takes to research and write weekly essays of value I needed to make that move, even though it caused some loyal readers to get blocked (you can subscribe here).
The first essay each month is still free to everyone, and that includes all of the past essays that happen to be the first of each month. All essays prior to the passage of the DSCSA are also free to everyone.
Overall, readership of RxTrace has risen every month since that first post seven years ago and I am grateful for that. New subscribers always far outpace unsubscribes, which only amount to a few each month.
My favorite essays from the past year include:
- An Open Letter To The FDA, EMA and ANVISA, RE: Who Are You Going To Punish? (free);
- The Many Faces Of The FDA;
- An Open Letter To The FDA, RE: Please Fix The National Drug Code Soon (free);
- Aggregation –> Chargeback Accuracy –> ROI;
- Will Manufacturers Be Able To Grandfather Products In Their DC And 3PL?;
- Your Plain Old Package: Unlock Its Built-in Brand Protection Capability (free);
- Meeting U.S. and E.U. Drug Serialization Requirements With A Single Solution.
The essays that received the most hits since the beginning of this year include:
- Anatomy Of The National Drug Code (free);
- Is Your Drug Exempt From The Federal Drug Supply Chain Security Act? (free);
- Depicting An NDC Within A GTIN (free);
- S. Drug Wholesale Distributors Provide Direction To Manufacturers;
- Meeting U.S. and E.U. Drug Serialization Requirements With A Single Solution.
In the last year I also published the second edition of “The Drug Supply Chain Security Act Explained” in paperback form. It is now available on Amazon.com and CreateSpace.com (an Amazon company).
WHAT’S NEXT
I look forward to writing about the following topics that should heat up in the coming months:
- New regulations (or drafts) from Russia, Pakistan, Egypt, Japan and elsewhere;
- Revised regulations from Brazil and China;
- New guidance documents expected from the FDA, HDA, GS1 US and the EMVO;
- Challenges in meeting each regulation and potential solutions.
Thanks for following RxTrace. Stay tuned for more!
Dirk.