Counterfeit Johnson & Johnson OneTouch Products Investigation – One More Good Reason to Start “Tagging” Products for Consumers So We Can Scan for Authenticity

Here we go again, a missed opportunity for consumer and patient safety. I wrote to the FDA today one more time so maybe I may have an open ear? I’ll just keep posting as stories emerge. Sales were 2 billion on the strips so is there not a little room in profit here to add some consumer safety to ensure we have a “real” product.

I have also written to several device and drug companies too. How deaf can those ears get? Last time it was insulin pumps with recalls and now we have strips so the diabetes industry certainly looks like a big target for black market products. I have also had some nice comments from both attorneys and pharmacists on this idea too. I don’t know about you but I would love to just scan with my cell phone and be rest assured that I have an authentic product in my hands.

Insulin Pump Problems and Recalls – FDA Get Those Tags Out There So Consumers Can Identify Them Easily with Cell Phones

One more time we can address the fact that the FDA has no way of recalling devices in an efficient manner and monitoring drugs. So if this happens to be the case here it would be a lot easier if a system were put in place for recalls. People die because they use or are implanted with recalled and faulty devices that miss getting off the shelf. Watch the video and see how easy it is for the consumer. I had a doctor tell me how much he likes using Microsoft Tags in his golf magazine, so he can see how to improve his swing and thought this was a good idea too, he’s already using Tags with no problem.

With a cell phone, we have no shortage of scanners that the manufacturer could put on the packaging as well as an online data base on the internet. I have other information on how these encrypted Tags can used for adding information to Personal Health Records too.

We have another case of tech denial here it seems and the fear of the word “change”. Look at the Becton Dickinson recall with catheters and something like this would have made it simple and lowered the chance that someone would die due to the fact that a product was missed and not pulled from use.

Before surgery – scan that stent! If it has been recalled the information would be updated to immediately let your know.

Tags for Use in Healthcare – Medical Stents, Medications - One Scan Away From Safety Information in Real Time

The beauty of all of this is the simplicity for the user, open program and scan with phone – that’s it. BD

Federal prosecutors are investigating a Florida man accused by Johnson & Johnson of selling counterfeit and potentially deadly versions of its diabetes-care products.

If charges are brought, it could become the first U.S. criminal case arising from the health-care giant's four-year global manhunt. J&J has waged an aggressive battle to bust a counterfeiting ring stretching from China to Pakistan to the U.S., following the discovery of fake copies of J&J's OneTouch diabetes test strips on the U.S. market in 2006.

The case shows how manufacturers of prescription drugs and medical products—and government authorities—are stepping up their fight against fake or stolen products. Last month, the federal government charged two people with illegally importing fake versions of GlaxoSmithKline PLC's weight-loss drug Alli.

Prosecutors Investigate Distributor of Counterfeit Johnson & Johnson OneTouch Product - WSJ.com