The Veteran’s Health Administration (VHA) has joined Pulse by NABP™, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy®’s (NABP®’s) new digital platform that will bring visibility to the drug supply chain and protect patients from counterfeit or substandard prescription medications. VHA will utilize Pulse to assist with Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) compliance and to help ensure that their prescription medication suppliers are appropriately licensed.
The DSCSA is a federal law that was enacted in 2013 to improve the safety of the pharmaceutical supply chain and prevent counterfeit drugs from entering the market. The law requires all members of the pharmaceutical supply chain to ensure they are doing business with trading partners that are authorized in accordance with federal law.
To that end, VHA will require all current and future vendors (trading partners) that provide prescription products within the Veterans Affairs (VA) health system to register with Pulse by NABP. As a public service, NABP is providing free registration on the Pulse platform for any member of the prescription drug supply chain. Pulse will help ensure that only legitimate and authorized trading partners are able to provide medications to our nation’s veterans.
“VHA is committed to protecting the health and safety of our nation’s veterans,” said the leadership of the VHA Pharmacy Benefits Management. “Requiring our vendors to register in Pulse will provide the VA with additional tools to help us to ensure that the medications our veterans receive are safe and authentic. We are grateful that NABP is providing free registration for all members of the supply chain.”
“We are pleased to welcome VHA to Pulse,” said Lemrey “Al” Carter, PharmD, MS, RPh, executive director/secretary of NABP. “VHA’s participation in Pulse will help to strengthen the security of the pharmaceutical supply chain and protect our nation’s veterans from counterfeit drugs.”
Learn more about Pulse and DSCSA compliance at https://pulse.pharmacy.
About NABP
NABP is the independent, international, and impartial 501(c)(3) nonprofit Association that assists its state member boards and jurisdictions for the purpose of protecting the public health. NABP was established in 1904 to assist the state boards of pharmacy in creating uniform education and licensure standards. Today, we help support patient and prescription drug safety through examinations that assess pharmacist competency, pharmacist licensure transfer and verification services, and various pharmacy accreditation and inspection programs.
About the Veteran’s Health Administration
The Veteran’s Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated healthcare system in the United States. VHA provides care to over 9 million veterans each year at over 1,200 facilities across the country. VHA is committed to providing veterans with high-quality, compassionate healthcare.
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