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Our Impact

USP's initiatives to promote good pharmaceutical care and quality food ingredients for all impact many populations worldwide—consumers and patients; the pharmaceutical, dietary supplement, food, and related industries; practitioners, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals; the academic science community; and regulatory and other government agencies. Read more about USP's global impact.

Impact on Consumers and Patients

USP's standards for product quality ensure that the general public receives good and safe pharmaceutical care, and consumes high quality, pure food-grade substances (which include colorings, flavorings, nutrients, and preservatives). USP standards help to assure consumers that the prescription and many nonprescription medications they take are of high quality, consistent in ingredients and strength, and properly labeled and stored. USP standards also promote added assurance of safety for food ingredients.

In the relatively unregulated arena of dietary supplements, USP's verification program provides the answer to important consumer questions. Consumers buying USP-Verified supplements can be sure that they are getting what they expect and that their supplements do not contain harmful levels of contaminants.

USP's patient safety initiatives foster safe environments for patient care in hospitals and health care systems. USP's reporting programs help to build systems in which patients can be confident of getting the right dose of the right drug at the right time through the right channel.

Impact on the Pharmaceutical, Dietary Supplement, Food, and Related Industries

USP's public standards provide safe harbors for manufacturers of medicines, dietary supplements, and other health care products, helping them to comply with regulatory requirements. Its standards for food ingredients assure the manufacturers of food, food chemicals, and food ingredients that the ingredients they are using are prepared according to Good Manufacturing Practices. Manufacturers rely on USP standards to ensure that the products they sell deliver the substance they promise in all forms and formulations throughout the products' shelf lives. USP standards also help manufacturers signal the quality of their products to practitioners, consumers, and patients.

USP's collaborative, public standards-setting process allows manufacturers to have a voice in setting the standards that they are required to meet.

Impact on Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Other Health Care Professionals

USP enables practitioners, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals to deliver safe, effective pharmaceutical care by providing training and education programs; standards for compounding, packaging, and repackaging of medicines; and forums for anonymous medication error reporting and information-sharing.

Impact on Regulatory and Other Government Agencies

Governments and regulatory authorities around the world rely on USP's public standards to assure quality pharmaceutical and food products for their citizens. USP's role helps governments conserve the scarce public resources that they would otherwise spend on developing these public standards. However, they also have the opportunity to provide their input in USP's collaborative standards-setting process.

In the United States, USP's role in the pharmaceutical realm usually begins after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves a drug for the market. USP works with pharmaceutical manufacturers and regulators to establish the public standards that approved drugs must continue to meet for quality, strength, and purity and to assure their safety and efficacy. Once USP standards are established and official, they are enforceable by the FDA.

Governments and regulatory agencies around the world often rely on USP standards to assess the quality of medicines and related articles in their countries and to ensure the appropriate use of these articles. USP's standards for food ingredients have become recognized internationally by manufacturers, vendors, and users of food chemicals. They carry regulatory weight around the world, whether as a legal requirement for manufacturing or importing in some countries or for demonstration of self–regulation in others.

Impact on the Academic Science Community

USP offers academicians and scientists around the world a forum to share their expertise in establishing the standards that help to ensure good pharmaceutical care and quality food ingredients for all. The academic community has opportunities to volunteer on USP's governing bodies, its Convention membership, and the Council of Experts and its Expert Committees.