Hospital pharmacies are criticizing Florida's plan to import drugs from Canada, arguing the idea undermines the pharmacist-patient relationship and fails to be a "real solution."
On Jan. 5, the FDA authorized Florida's proposal to import prescription drugs from Canada with the goal of introducing cheaper medicines into the U.S. supply chain. It's the first state to gain this power, and about eight other states have submitted similar importation plans to the FDA.
The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists said it had long objected to states importing medications because "it has the potential to disrupt the pharmacist-patient relationship, particularly for patients with complex medication regimens, and because it is not a meaningful response to drug pricing."
It's unlikely Florida will be importing drugs anytime soon, the ASHP said, because it needs to first comply with HHS' Safe Importation Action Plan, manufacturers are likely to sue and Canada might not participate to protect its own supply.
"The Canadian market cannot supply anywhere close to the amount of medication needed to bring down U.S. drug prices," Tom Kraus, ASHP vice president of government relations, said in a news release. "We need politicians to focus on real solutions like ending pharmacy benefit manager rebates that undermine competition and discourage use of lower-cost medications, and allowing pharmacists to substitute clinically equivalent biologic medications, like they do for generic small molecule drugs."
Florida's importation plan is authorized for two years starting on the date of its first shipment. Before that happens, though, the state has to submit information about the drugs it plans to import, re-label drugs to meet FDA standards, test the drugs for authenticity and compliance, and submit reports quarterly to the FDA on the cost savings and safety.
The American Pharmacists Association also criticized the plan, saying it jeopardizes patient safety because of the risk of introducing counterfeit drugs to the U.S. market.