DeLauro On Alarming Findings Of HHS Inspector General

Press Release

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) released the following comments in response to a report from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Health and Human Services that found the vast majority of hospitals that use high-risk compounded sterile preparations outsource the production of some of those products. This report comes in the wake of last year's recall of compounded drugs that caused a nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak.

"The IG's findings are simply staggering and underscore the risk that people across the country learned far too well last year. Thanks to a savvy nurse in Connecticut, a compounded sterile preparation that may have been contaminated was identified before making anyone sick in my home state. But we should not have to rely on chance -- we need strong, clear federal oversight of sterile compounding to ensure that patients and health care providers across the country can have confidence in the safety of these products."

As noted by the OIG, compounded sterile preparations have a higher risk for patients than non-sterile preparations. These sterile medical treatments may be administered to patients in a hospital setting via an injection or infusion. An example of these preparations is the product intended for intravenous injection that a nurse at the Yale New Haven Hospital spotted visible foreign matter floating in. Her action led to a nationwide recall of potentially contaminated Med Prep products. The OIG report found that more than 90 percent of hospitals administer compounded sterile preparations and more than 80 percent of those hospitals outsource at least some production of those medical products.

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