Preserving Access to Life Saving Medications Act 

“In the emergency department, we depend on a supply of necessary medications to treat patients in a timely and efficient manner. But recent drug shortages across the country have threatened the quality of care we provide and put patients’ lives on the line. Emergency nurses have seen patients suffer needlessly and experience adverse events because substitute medications were not as effective or because, in some cases, no substitutes exist. 

Typically, the news of a shortage comes as a surprise with no warning and no opportunity to develop alternate plans. Health care providers should not be the last to know when a pharmaceutical company has a change to raw material supplies, makes adjustments to manufacturer production capabilities, or makes business decisions that affect changes in output. 

The care we provide for our patients should not suffer because of a lack of communication between pharmaceutical companies, health care providers and the public when a problem arises. 

That’s why the Emergency Nurses Association strongly supports the Preserving Access to Life Saving Medications Act (S.296), introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar and Robert Casey, which would require pharmaceutical companies to notify the Food and Drug Administration when a factor arises that may result in a shortage. The bill will increase the accountability of pharmaceutical companies to the public, help ensure that the supply chain is more consistent, and allow the opportunity to plan for foreseeable shortages. 

Our nearly 40,000 members see every day the impact a drug shortage can have on patients. We applaud the Senators’ leadership on this issue, and hope that increased awareness may help lead to improved production systems and prevent future shortages.” 

About the Emergency Nurses Association