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President's Message 
Drug shortage persists despite progress; how has the problem affected you?
On behalf of the Ohio ACEP Board of Directors and staff, we wish you and your family a happy and restful holiday season. It may feel like EM docs rarely have the chance to rest and recharge, but seizing the opportunities when they come is an important part of taking care of ourselves—and our patients.
As for me, all I want for Christmas is some Reglan. It’s a sad truth: the drug shortage that began over a year ago is still a major problem.
The biggest contributor to the shortages has been the rapid increase of products made by the industry without a corresponding expansion in manufacturing capacity. As a result, manufacturers are making strategic decisions about what to produce. This means fewer companies are making some of the older and more widely used generics because they are simply not as profitable.
There’s no doubt important progress has been made. In July, President Obama signed a bill giving the FDA authority to require drug manufacturers to report potential shortages and provides for coordination with manufacturers to increase production or reallocate drugs where they’re most needed.
Nonetheless, the problem persists. Though it has successfully headed off some major shortage crises, the law is only a stopgap. Until a proactive solution coordinates information between all links in the supply and oversight chain—from material suppliers, to manufacturers, to the FDA—the underlying causes of the problem will go unaddressed.
Because this is an issue that affects all emergency physicians, we want to better understand how shortages are impacting our members’ ability to treat patients. Will you help us by completing a brief, five-question QuickPoll?
I doubt I’ll find Reglan under the tree this year, but with continued focus and cooperation between regulatory officials and pharmaceutical companies, hopefully we won’t need to rely on Santa to get our patients the drugs they need in 2013.
Wishing you a warm, safe and happy holiday,
Mike
Michael Smith, MD, FACEP
President, Ohio ACEP
Board Member Spotlight - Dr. C.C. Halloran
 One of Dr. Halloran’s greatest passions is travel. Her favorite destination so far is Perth, Australia, and she dreams of someday visiting South Africa and Antarctica. A lover of both snorkeling and animals, she can’t wait for her upcoming trip to Hawaii where she plans to swim with the sea turtles. [Read more...]
Advocacy Update
Ohio Supreme Court Upholds Critical Tort Reform
In a major win for Ohio’s emergency physicians, the Ohio Supreme Court upheld an important medical malpractice reform law as constitutional. Ohio ACEP was part of a friend-of-the-court brief urging the justices to reverse a lower court’s ruling that struck down the law. [Read more...]
Member Kudos
Eric Adkins, MD; Creagh Boulger, MD; Ann M. Dietrich, MD, FACEP; Emile El-Shammaa, MD, FACEP; Colin Kaide, MD, FACEP; Richard Limperos, MD; Daniel R. Martin, MD, FACEP; Richard Nelson, MD, FACEP; and Michael J. Stoner, MD, FACEP, for serving as faculty at the Emergency Medicine Conference and APLS Course presented by Nationwide Children’s Hospital and the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center Departments of Emergency Medicine
Eric Adkins, MD, for being interviewed on WBNS-10TV for the segment “The Dangers of Energy Drinks”
Baruch Fertel, MD, MPA; Richard J. Ryan, MD, FACEP; and Michael S. Lyons, MD, MPH, for their article “Toward Understanding the Difference Between Using Patients or Encounters in the Accounting of Emergency Department Utilization” published in the December edition of the Annals of Emergency Medicine
Michael McCrea, MD, FACEP, and Thomas E. Carter, DO, FACEP, for being asked to serve on the Tellers, Credentials, and Elections Committee at the 2013 ACEP Council meeting in Seattle
If you know of a member that deserves to be congratulated, let us know!
Applications for 2013 Leadership Development Academy Are Being Accepted Now
Do you know about Ohio ACEP’s Leadership Development Academy? The innovative yearlong program is designed to empower tomorrow’s physician leaders with critical skills in leadership, communications and advocacy through guided, hands-on learning experiences.
For more information about the program, including the application process or to nominate a colleague, check out our 2013 Leadership Development Academy brochure. Applications and nominations will be accepted until February 15.
Gov. Kasich Decides on Health Exchange
Ohio Governor John Kasich has decided that the state will not run its own health exchange under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). In the absence of a state-run exchange, the federal government will administer Ohio’s program. [Read more...]
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