Chicago — (April 23, 2010) 

On April 23, 2010 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hosted a stakeholder call to provide an update about the ongoing shortage of propofol and other anesthetic drugs.  During the call, the Agency also announced a new page on its website that answers a number of questions that FDA and ASA have been fielding about the shortages. In addition to the Q&A section, the new web page contains a link to the FDA’s drug shortage website, to access the latest information on individual drug shortages, as well as instructions on how to report drug shortages or problems you or your pharmacy are experiencing in obtaining certain medications.

The ASA is grateful to the FDA and its staff for their ongoing efforts to address this important issue and provide regular updates to ASA and its members.  ASA encourages members to continue to provide FDA with information about the drug shortages they are experiencing in their practice. The more information you can provide the FDA, the better equipped they will be to intervene and help prevent further shortages.

To access FDA’s new site, learn more about anesthesia drug shortages or report a shortage, click here.

To listen to a free replay of the April 23rd FDA stakeholder call, please dial 866-452-2115 or 203-369-1219 (international) and enter the passcode, which is 3571. The recording will remain available through May 23, 2010.

For more information on the field of anesthesiology, visit the American Society of Anesthesiologists website at www.asahq.org. For patient information, visit LifeLineToModernMedicine.com

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