California regulators delayed the electronic tracking of prescription drugs for two years on March 25, 2008. A vote of 12-0 by the California State Board of Pharmacy will give drug manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies an additional two years to prepare for an electronic system that will track prescription drugs from the manufacturer to the patient.
The requirement to track prescription drugs has already been delayed by the California State Legislature in 2007. After the most recent vote, the pharmaceutical industry has until January 1, 2011 until they need to be ready to institute the system.
The delay is intended to allow the pharmaceutical industry enough time to properly set up the needed computer systems that would comply with the new requirement to track prescriptions.
A requirement to track prescriptions has also been issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The federal organization will require that drug companies be prepared for the electronic prescription drug tracking system by January 2010.
The system that will be used to track medication is meant to prevent counterfeit drugs from reaching patients. It will also help to prevent expired, misbranded, substandard or otherwise adulterated medication from reaching consumers.
Although California was the first state to set a date to require an electronic pedigree from prescription drug manufacturers, the federal government may be the first to actually enact the regulation.
Both systems will track medication from its source at the manufacturer, and then monitor them until they are sold to a physician or pharmacy.
The need for a prescription tracking system became apparent after the 2003 recall of Lipitor. Over 200,000 counterfeit bottles of Lipitor were recalled because of the danger posed to consumers.
A system to track the origin and movement of medication may help to prevent serious illnesses and fatalities due to defective drugs.
There are defective drug attorneys currently working on cases in which patients have become seriously ill or have suffered fatality because of the negligence of drug manufactures.
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