Health
FDA's drug directory woefully inaccurate
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Sept. 11, 2006
All currently marketed prescription medications are required to be listed in the Food and Drug Administration's National Drug Code Directory, but thousands are missing. Thousands more are still registered even though they have been taken off the market, according to a report by the Dept. of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General.
Researchers are concerned about these inaccuracies because this information is used by the agency to ensure drug safety, recall tainted products and monitor medication imports.
The OIG found many of the inaccuracies were a result of pharmaceutical firms failing to notify the FDA when drugs were introduced or withdrawn, although the authors also found applications for some unlisted drugs were in FDA files but not processed.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2006/09/11/hlbf0911.htm.
