The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today that they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to share information and expertise related to the review and use of FDA-regulated drugs, biologics and medical devices (medical products).
This partnership is part of the ongoing drug and medical product safety initiatives detailed in a report released today by the FDA.
The goals of the collaboration are to explore ways to enhance postmarket medical product safety data collection and risk communication through more robust interagency activities. It will promote efficient use of tools and expertise for medical product risk identification, validation and analysis. Additionally, this effort will help build infrastructure and processes that meet the common needs for evaluating the safety, efficacy and use of medical products.
"Patient safety is our primary concern," said Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D., Commissioner of Food and Drugs. "This collaboration will benefit VHA, FDA and all Americans by enhancing our ability to fully understand the life cycle of a product. It will also better enable us to identify new risks and more fully understand known risks caused by specific medical products as well as to better communicate that information to health care practitioners and patients."