U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Drug Shortages

Congressional hearings on drug shortages continue due in part to continued efforts of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the medical community to raise awareness and seek solutions to this crisis. On Nov. 30, the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Health Care, District of Columbia, Census and the National Archives convened a hearing on the issue.

Michelle Hudspeth, MD, director of the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Division at the Medical University of South Carolina, testified that “the current situation is nothing short of a massive national emergency” and that the shortages were severely impacting cancer care.

Dr. Hudspeth also discussed why she felt the reimbursement model created through the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 has helped lead to the shortages.

Read the full report at: http://tinyurl.com/7xta8rv

Source: Oncology Business Review; ASCO