HIDA Government Affairs Update

Edition: May 2009 - Vol 17 Number 05
Article#: 3178
Author: Repertoire

As the year unfolds, a variety of government affairs issues are poised to impact healthcare distributors and the industry’s provider customers. The Health Industry Distributors Association (HIDA) is pleased to present this new legislative and regulatory update feature in Repertoire to help keep healthcare distributors and other key stakeholders current on the latest government affairs-related topics. Snapshots of critical industry government affairs issues will be presented each month. For more information on any of the items or topics featured in this section, visit www.HIDA.org or contact HIDA directly at (703) 549-4432.

In this first update, HIDA outlines a priority issue for 2009: Supply Chain Integrity (Pedigree).

What is it?

Pedigree refers to a range of federal and state regulations that mandate manufacturer, distributor, and provider requirements for the tracking of prescription medical products throughout the supply chain. HIDA, and many of its members, have been active in pushing the U.S. Congress for legislation that will regulate this terrain more effectively.

Industry impact

Many of the current requirements fail to take into consideration the complexity of the supply chain, the role of small-to-mid-size distributors, or the wide range of prescription products that are used by an equally diverse group of healthcare providers. The lack of a single, rational approach has created duplicative and costly compliance issues for many HIDA member distributors.

What you need to know

To date, 29 states have adopted some variation of pedigree requirements either by statute or regulation. In 2009, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania introduced pedigree-enabling legislation (if a state does not have a law on the books, the distributor must follow federal guidelines).

The adoption of new federal legislation that would create a uniform, well-considered federal pedigree standard (pre-empting current state regulations) will help achieve the goal of supply chain safety while ensuring that all provider sites have access to the medical products they need. This year, Congress is poised to develop and consider a range of potential healthcare “vehicles” that will address various aspects of the reform debate – the opportunity for positive action on pedigree has never been greater. Contact HIDA to learn more about the legislation that may help achieve this goal and how you can support this critical advocacy effort. www.hida.org.