On the recordJune 3, 2013
At this time I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. McKinley). Mr. McKINLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1919. Let me bring attention to a provision in the bill that we were just discussing about electronic distribution of prescription information for health care professionals and pharmacists. Industry and the FDA have been in discussions for years about eliminating the paper attached to bottles of prescription drugs. Let me show you this. This is what we are talking about--this wad of paper on the top of a prescription bottle. It's a folded up piece of paper. It can be in three and four parts. This is not an efficient way to distribute critical information about prescription drugs. Eliminating this wad of paper would save the consumers millions of dollars in printing and shipping costs. The House committee recognized the need to allow pharmacists the option of electronic or paper copies, because some rural pharmacies may not have Internet capabilities. Unfortunately, this labeling provision is not in the Senate bill. So, as the process moves forward into conference, this labeling provision needs to be retained so that we have a final product that assures patient safety and provides uniform national standards to strengthen the national drug supply chain. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and the labeling provision.
