What Others are Saying

“The majority of drug shortages, an estimated 70%, are the result of a breakdown in quality and manufacturing.” 

Dr. Margaret Hamburg, FDA Commissioner

“GPOs play a vital role in helping hospitals limit the impact of drug shortages and ensuring the least possible disruption to patient care by prompt and safe migration to alternative products, where possible.”

Report on GPOs and Drug Shortages, Avalere Health and HSCA  

“GPOs are currently working collaboratively with manufacturers, distributors, the FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that hospitals and patients have access to the life-saving drugs they need. They are also taking a variety of innovative steps to mitigate the impact of drug shortages.”

Former Members of Congress Phil English, Byron Dorgan, and Robert Bennett

“Healthcare group purchasing organizations (GPOs) are working hand-in-hand with hospitals to help manage the supply of scarce drugs and reduce the impact of these shortages. We are committed to working with manufacturers and distributors, HHS, FDA, and Congress to help ensure that our hospitals and other health care providers have access to these life-saving drugs for the patients they serve.”

HSCA President Curtis Rooney in Letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius

“The practice of hospitals contracting with a GPO in order to aggregate their purchasing power is not a factor in drug shortages. It has been Hospira’s experience that GPOs do not limit the manufacturers who can contract with the GPO, especially in the circumstance of a drug shortage.”
Thomas G. Moore, President, Hospira U.S.A., in a letter to Members of Congress

“Based on my experience, GPOs play a positive role in the process of locating, sourcing and supplying drugs to their member hospitals and therefore the patients who require these drugs.”

Jeffrey M. Yordon, President & CEO, Sagent Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

“Our hospitals need safe, high quality medicines that are FDA-approved and reliable, both in quality and supply. Our experience has been that the GPO, on behalf of the hospitals and the patients they serve, will seek other FDA-approved manufacturers and will not limit choices if there are others that can supply the products.”
Thomas G. Moore, President, Hospira U.S.A., in a letter to Members of Congress

“Saying that GPOs are the primary contributor to such market distortions is like the mall industry calling out bad weather as the cause for spikes in shoplifting. It’s like blaming Obamacare for Detroit going broke. It’s what statisticians refer to as a logical fallacy.”
Tom Finn, Healthcare Matters