The FDA updated their website this morning with new guidance that indicates they intend to use enforcement discretion by not enforcing the dispenser requirements to accept and capture Transaction Information (TI),Transaction History (TH) and a Transaction Statement (TS) until November 1, 2015, a four month delay in enforcement. The document indicates that the FDA’s decision to take this action was based on the fact that “…some dispensers have expressed concern that electronic systems used to exchange, capture, and maintain product tracing information will not be operational by this effective date.” Continue reading FDA Publishes New Guidance Delaying Dispenser 3T Requirements Until November 1, 2015
Tag Archives: dispensers
Dispensers Make Last Minute Appeal for Delay in DSCSA Deadline
Less than a week before the July 1, 2015 Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) deadline for dispensers to begin receiving, storing a being able to retrieve Transaction Information (TI),Transaction History (TH) and a Transaction Statement (TS) for every incoming shipment of prescription drugs, a group of pharmacy associations have asked the FDA for enforcement discretion for an unspecified time to avoid “…the possible outcome of disruptions to the supply chain”. Continue reading Dispensers Make Last Minute Appeal for Delay in DSCSA Deadline
The Coming Battle Over Decommissioning At The Pharmacy
The U.S. pharma supply chain will operate under two major phases as dictated by the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA). We are now operating under the first major phase. Well, OK, it won’t be fully operational until July 1st when dispensers (see “Who Is A DSCSA Dispenser?”) are required to begin receiving, saving and retrieving Transaction Information (TI), Transaction History (TH), and Transaction Statements (TS) for each shipment they receive. Drug manufacturers, repackagers and wholesale distributors were supposed to begin exchanging those documents on January 1st but in late December the FDA issued a draft guidance that indicated they will not enforce that requirement until May 1st (see “FDA Postpones Enforcement of DSCSA Transaction Data Exchange Until May 1”). But be aware that according to the DSCSA, as of January 1st, all trading partners must be properly licensed and everyone may only buy and sell drugs legally from/to companies who hold a valid State or Federal license. Those and other requirements of the DSCSA were not delayed by the FDA.
The second major phase of the DSCSA will not occur until November 27, 2023 when the law transforms into something that is fairly nebulous right now. That is, between now and Continue reading The Coming Battle Over Decommissioning At The Pharmacy
The DSCSA, the NDC, Inventory Management, GS1 GTINs…and Turkeys
Until the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) was passed as part of the Drug Quality and Security Act (DQSA) last year (see “It’s Official, President Obama Signs H.R. 3204, DQSA, Into Law”), companies could use whatever code they wanted to refer to the prescription drug products in supply chain operations and for their own inventory management. Some probably chose the 10-digit National Drug Code (NDC), some probably chose the 11-digit reimbursement code that is based on the 10-digit NDC, and some probably chose to use a 12- or 14-digit GS1 Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) as a reference code for their inventory data. But now that the DSCSA mandates the use of the 10-digit NDC when exchanging transaction data on January 1, companies using the other codes that are based on the NDC might need to Continue reading The DSCSA, the NDC, Inventory Management, GS1 GTINs…and Turkeys
Who Is A DSCSA Dispenser?
When the U.S. Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) was signed into law last November, it introduced a new term into the supply chain lexicon: “Dispenser”. It is unfortunate that the authors chose not to use a more recognizable word—like “pharmacies”, or “hospitals”, or “physicians”—because, if they had, more organizations in the dispensing sector might have taken more notice of the requirements they are facing. But, of course, they could not do that because they wanted to refer to all of those organizations using a single term. All of those types of organizations fall into the DSCSA definition of “dispensers” and the use of that word appears to have led to some confusion, and therefore some amount of complacency.
“Dispenser” is one of the terms the DSCSA defines so that the rest of the text does not need to repeat the full list of organizations the authors are referring to (see “Don’t Skip The DQSA Definition of Terms Section”). Its definition is only applicable Continue reading Who Is A DSCSA Dispenser?
Vendor Managed Inventory Under California ePedigree
One of the complexities of the modern pharmaceutical supply chain occurs when a pharmaceutical dispensing organization “outsources” the management of their on-premises inventory to their supplier, or “vendor”. This is known as Vendor Managed Inventory, or VMI. There are several good reasons this might be done, including eliminating the need to deal with issues that have more to do with supply chain execution mechanics and fluctuating supply and demand than they do with the core competency of dispensing drugs.
When VMI is used in the pharma supply chain the supplier is typically a wholesaler whose core competency is in dealing with those exact issues. That’s just what they do. The wholesaler benefits from the VMI relationship because they become the exclusive supplier to the VMI customer. VMI can be a “win-win” proposition as long as costs are kept in-check.
But what will happen to VMI relationships in California after the California pedigree law goes into effect?
Continue reading Vendor Managed Inventory Under California ePedigree
More Thoughts On The Congressional Discussion Draft
You now have less than one week to provide a group of Congresspeople with your thoughts on their latest discussion draft for a bill that would attempt to make our U.S. drug supply chain less susceptible to criminal attacks and errors. See my two earlier essays, “The Congressional Draft Proposal to Improve Drug Distribution Security” and “Congressional Legislation Development: Mad Libs Edition!” for more specifics.
Perhaps the aggressiveness of the response date is a reflection of how important this piece of proposed legislation is. That is, if you think it is important, then you will immediately drop whatever it was you were doing and get right to the task of providing a detailed reply so they can make sure the final draft reflects your preferences. I don’t know what you’ve been up to, but this is my third essay about it. 😉
There are still a few things that I wonder about. Continue reading More Thoughts On The Congressional Discussion Draft
