Report calls for federal, other action to prevent medical supply shortages

To help prevent medical product shortages and ensure access to essential drugs and devices, the Food and Drug Administration should make information on medical product sourcing, manufacturing capacity and quality publicly available for all medical products approved or cleared for sale in the United States, according to a new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Among other actions, the report calls for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response to develop ways to better manage the Strategic National Stockpile and convene a stakeholder group to improve medical product allocation and delivery during shortages; health systems to incorporate quality and reliability into their contracting, purchasing and inventory decisions; and countries to negotiate an international treaty that prohibits export bans on critical products.