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Prescription Drug Counterfeiting: Distributors Meet the Challenge

Healthcare Distribution Management Association, 901 North Glebe Road, Suite 1000, Arlington, VA 22203

The Healthcare Distribution Management Association (HDMA) and its primary full-service health care distributor members, other members of the health care supply chain, and government officials have made considerable progress in the ongoing effort to further secure the nation's prescription drug supply chain. However, all stakeholders must continue to seek additional deterrents. Based on past experiences, effective anticounterfeiting techniques involve 3 crucial components: (1) the approaches must be innovative, (2) every supply chain partner must share the commitment to fight counterfeit drugs, and (3) they include interim measures, particularly those emphasizing preventing criminal counterfeiters from getting into the system. These components are met by the recommendations of the HDMA and its distributor members including the adoption of supply chain technologies, such as radio frequency identification; stricter, uniform distributor licensing standards across the 50 states; and tougher regulation, stronger enforcement, and harsher penalties for the crime of counterfeiting medicine. Also strongly supported are continuous improvements in business practices. The US health care supply chain has evolved, and there have been important changes since the enactment of the Prescription Drug Marketing Act. This article recommends strategies for meeting the challenge of counterfeit drugs.

Key Words: PDMA • RFID • counterfeit • distribution • legislation

Journal of Pharmacy Practice, Vol. 19, No. 4, 230-235 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0897190006293511


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