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VA and FDA to Share Information on Safe Use of Medical Products

January 31, 2007

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is collaborating with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to share information and expertise related to the review and use of FDA-regulated drugs, blood products, vaccines and other medical products.

“This partnership is clearly a significant step toward protecting the health of the nation’s veterans,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson. “Our shared focus on the safety of medical products reflects our mutual commitment to providing world-class health care to our nation’s veterans.”

VA and FDA will explore ways to further enhance post-market medical product safety data collection and risk communication through more efficient and robust inter-agency activities. The collaboration will promote efficient use of tools and expertise for risk identification, validation and analysis. This effort will also help build infrastructure and processes that meet the common needs for evaluating the safety, efficacy and use of medical products.

By strengthening the process for post-marketing safety, VA and FDA will continue to improve the safe and effective use of medical products by using the best management approaches, the best information technology and the best quality systems and review processes.

All health information exchanged under the agreement will be strictly protected under federal law.

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Larry Scott

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