ASRS is the premier organization for retina specialists. The organization advocates for better access to high-quality medication for patients with retina-specific conditions.
ASRS does this is by engaging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on regulatory issues that affect physicians’ choices of prescription and compounded drugs. ASRS advises and educates the FDA to encourage the formulation of policies that support timely access to drug treatments and facilitate consistently high quality care.
Currently, ASRS is advising the FDA on policies covering topics like drug compounding (specifically patient requirements to access drugs from 503A pharmacies). The FDA designates 503A pharmacies as those that compound drugs according to individual patient prescriptions. They do not compound drugs in mass quantities. They are different from 503B pharmacies that have outsourcing facilities to compound drugs in mass with or without patient prescriptions.
In February 2019, ASRS sent a letter to the FDA informing it of the barriers preventing retina specialists from accessing office supplies of small-batch compounded drugs. In the letter, ASRS informed the FDA that its requirement that physicians provide a patient-specific prescription to get compounded drugs from 503A pharmacies forced them to get these drugs from outsourcing facilities, many of which were not willing to compound drugs in the small quantities that are often requested by retina specialists for patients in need of immediate care. The FDA, in response, acknowledged the existence of these barriers and pledged to reduce them to ensure safe, effective, and timely patient care.