Prescription medications are generally safe, but only when they are taken as prescribed and for the intended purpose. When they are abused—taken in ways that are not prescribed—they can cause an array of adverse health effects, including overdose and death. We need a balanced approach that ensures appropriate treatment of pain while also addressing this critical public health challenge.

Ensuring patients have access to needed medicines is critical, but the importation of unapproved medicines, whether from Canada or elsewhere in the world, poses a serious risk to public health. Drug importation schemes expose Americans to potentially counterfeit, substandard or diverted, repackaged and adulterated drugs.

Drug shortages demand attention and collaboration from all stakeholders involved in providing life-saving medicines to patients.