“Quality Matters” Blog Highlights Public Health Impact of USP
Rockville, MD (PRWEB) August 06, 2014 -- A new “Quality Matters” blog hosted by the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) was launched today to expand the social media conversation about efforts to improve global health through public standards that help ensure the quality, safety and benefits of medicines and foods.
“USP has a long history of focusing on quality, sparked in 1820 by a group of eleven physicians who gathered together and created a process to develop and promote clear quality standards for medicines being used in the United States,” said USP Chief Executive Officer Ronald T. Piervincenzi, Ph.D. “The system they created – regularly bringing together expert volunteers, practitioners and scientists to publicly evaluate and discuss ideas – is the essence of ‘social networking,’ and our new blog is an extension of those original conversations.”
Piervincenzi noted that over its nearly 200-year history, USP’s work has grown beyond quality standards for medicines, to include food ingredients, dietary supplements and herbal products. With facilities in the US, Africa, China, India, Brazil and Europe, USP has increased its reach and impact to include other health-related issues – ranging from efforts to curb the flow of life-threatening substandard or counterfeit drugs and crafting labeling standards for the safe dispensing of medicines, to exploring ways to reduce medical errors or developing standards for veterinary products.
“Our new blog is a medium to showcase the expertise and ideas that USP's staff and global volunteers bring to these issues, with the goal of encouraging a public discussion about the quality and integrity of medicines and foods,” said Piervincenzi. “Our goal is to engage a diverse audience and we look forward to continuing a dialog about the importance and impact of quality.”
For more information, contact mediarelations(at)usp(dot)org.
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USP – Global Expertise, Trusted Standards, Improved Health
The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) is a global health organization that improves lives through public standards and related programs that help ensure the quality, safety, and benefit of medicines and foods. USP’s standards are used worldwide. For more information about USP visit http://www.usp.org.
Nils Hagen-Frederiksen, US Pharmacopeial Convention, http://www.usp.org, 301-816-8268, [email protected]
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