E-DRUG: USA Medical Ass Delegates back parallel imports for USA
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[copied from PHARM-POLICY with thanks; WB]
Suprising news regarding the AMA and parallel imports.
Jamie
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AMA Delegates Adopt Resolution To Support Allowing Rx Drug Reimportation
12/09/1999
Health News Daily
The American Medical Association's House of Delegates
approved a resolution Dec. 8 expressing support for allowing the
reimportation of prescription drugs by U.S. pharmacies.
The resolution directs AMA's Council on Medical Service
to "study and recommend changes in United States laws to permit
the purchase of FDA-approved drugs across national borders by
individual citizens, and more importantly to permit pharmacies to
purchase wholesale prescription drugs from foreign suppliers."
The resolution directs the CMS to report back to the
House of Delegates by the December 2000 interim meeting.
During the recently concluded congressional session, Rep.
Marion Berry (D-Ark.) sponsored legislation to allow U.S.
wholesalers, distributors and pharmacists to reimport
pharmaceuticals that were manufactured in the U.S. and shipped to
foreign distributors. Companion legislation was introduced in the
Senate by Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Olympia Snowe
(R-Maine).
The AMA reimportation language was proposed by the
Montana delegation as an amendment to a resolution approved by
delegates that directs AMA to study further the issue of
increases in pharmaceutical costs. The issues to be studied
include international differences in prices paid for identical
drugs, the introduction of new pharmaceuticals "that are
significantly more expensive than the ones they replace,"
direct-to-consumer advertising, lifestyle drugs, the
bioavailability, equivalency, and efficacy of generic drugs and
"impaired access to necessary pharmaceuticals for all patients."
Delegates approved the directive on the study in lieu
of a proposed resolution calling for AMA to develop a national
task force on increases in pharmaceutical costs.
[snip]
Regarding the issue of Medicare prescription drug
coverage, delegates declined to adopt a resolution that would
have directed AMA to recommend to Congress establishing a
Medicare drug benefit.
[snip]
The delegates also approved a request that the AMA's
Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs study and report back on
the ethical issues involved in the practice of pharmacy benefit
risk-sharing by physicians.
--
James Love / Director, Consumer Project on Technology
http://www.cptech.org / love@cptech.org
P.O. Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036
voice 202.387.8030 / fax 202.234.5176
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