NSMC News Releases

North Shore Physicians Group update on NECC drug recall

10/20/2012

As you have seen in the news, the New England Compounding Center (NECC) in Framingham has recently closed because of concerns about contaminated drug products.

We want to assure patients and their families that North Shore Physician Group has never purchased nor used medications from NECC in its offices.

We are following the recommendation of the FDA and working to identify patients who may have received other injectable medication prepared by NECC through North Shore Medical Center (NSMC). This warning was based on reports to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention that two patients who had received other injectable products prepared by NECC had developed infections as well. Although a direct link has not been confirmed, the FDA believes that this class of products could present potentially similar risks of infection. Meanwhile, all products made by NECC have been recalled and North Shore Medical Center has removed these medications from its pharmacies.

Furthermore, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) has asked that Ameridose, a pharmaceutical manufacturer in Westborough, Mass., that is linked to NECC, cease production while the state investigates that facility. There is no known contamination of any medications from Ameridose, nor have medications from the company been recalled.

The DPH has advised hospitals, including NSMC, that it is safe to use their inventories of Ameridose products during the investigation. NSMC is assessing the impact of the closure of these pharmaceutical facilities on medications supplies and developing plans to ensure that medications will be available to our patients without interruption.

Patients with any concerns about medications should contact their physicians. For additional information, please visit the CDC website.

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NSMC (North Shore Medical Center) is a multi-site health system headquartered in Salem, Mass., which includes NSMC Salem Hospital, NSMC Union Hospital in Lynn, MassGeneral for Children at North Shore Medical Center, NSMC Heart Center, NSMC Women’s Center and the physician network known as North Shore Physicians Group. NSMC and Massachusetts General Hospital together provide care at the Mass General/North Shore Center for Outpatient Care and the Mass General/North Shore Cancer Center in Danvers. NSMC is a member of Partners HealthCare, which was founded by Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. #northshoremed