The following statement by Virginia Herold, Executive Director of California's State Board of Pharmacy, caught my attention this morning:
"The state Board of Pharmacy is feeling pressure from pharmaceutical companies to delay a second time the deadline by which companies must implement an ill-defined electronic drug tracking system known as an “e-pedigree,” said the board’s executive director, Virginia Herold. This time, Herold said, the board could consider delaying the requirement — which the California Legislature passed in 2004 — to 2011.
Source: Pharmacy Board Under Pressure to Push Out Deadline for Electronic Drug Tracking (San Diego Business Journal)
I'm not surprised because the 2009 implementation date would require e-pedigree implementation RIGHT NOW in upstream manufacturing processes. Some manufacturers still seem to be getting their arms around pedigree requirements, which is why Supplyscape was such a big hit at the HDMA DMC meeting last month.
The minutes of the Board's June 20, 2007, meeting are not online yet, but they will be posted shortly on the Board of Pharmacy website.
P.S. Smile -- it's AMP Final Regulation day! (maybe...)
According to an email from Lambert van der Walde this morning (July 2):
ReplyDelete"The AMP final regulation is expected soon, however, CMS is not sure if it will be available today."
Perhaps CMS is just trying to piggyback on the Transformers hype...