B&D; Consulting's Sara Weir Addresses Safe Injection Initiatives

B&D; Consulting's Sara Weir Addresses Safe Injection Initiatives

WASHINGTON — Sara Weir of B&D; Consulting addressed the Food & Drug Administration's (FDA) Safe Use Initiative Workshop in Silver Spring, MD, on November 15. The workshop was hosted by the FDA's Safe Use Initiative Team.

Weir leads B&D; Consulting's work as coordinator of the Safe Injection Practices Coalition (SIPC). The SIPC is a public-private partnership dedicated to addressing unsafe injection practices through its education and awareness initiative, the One & Only Campaign.

In her remarks, Weir addressed problems with current practice patterns and identified opportunities for external stakeholders to collaborate with the FDA to promote safe injection practices. The two-day workshop allowed the health care community to engage in a dialogue to reduce preventable harm from FDA-regulated medications.

Weir commented, "The FDA Safe Use Initiative Program is an excellent platform to enhance cross sector collaboration on safe medication use. I was pleased to highlight the work of the SIPC and FDA's engagement with this coalition. This is a model public private partnership that is making great strides in advancing injection safety across all care settings."

Since 1999, more than 130,000 patients in the United States have been notified of potential exposure to hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV due to lapses in basic infection control practices. Many of these lapses involved health care providers who reused syringes, resulting in contamination of medication vials or containers which were used again on subsequent patients. 

In 2008, the SIPC was formed as a partnership of industry, patient and public health organizations to promote safe injection practices in all U.S. care settings. The coalition developed the One & Only Campaign education and awareness campaign, which is aimed at both health care providers and patients to advance and promote safe injection practices.

As vice president at B&D; Consulting, Weir consults with health and life sciences stakeholders on innovative public-private partnerships and other alliances to drive translational research and public health promotion and prevention.

ABOUT B&D; CONSULTING

B&D; Consulting is a national advisory and advocacy firm based in Washington, D.C., now celebrating its 25^th year in business. The firm's professionals serve clients across key sectors, advancing their objectives within increasingly complex policy environments. Whether developing a business or advancing a mission, the B&D; Consulting team has the multi-faceted skills to help clients succeed. B&D; Consulting is a division of Baker & Daniels LLP, an international law firm with offices in Indiana, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Beijing. For more information about B&D; Consulting or Baker & Daniels, visit www.bakerdconsulting.com or www.bakerdaniels.com.