Damage Control 101: What Does the Compounding Industry Need to Do?

While serving as the appellate chief at the United States Attorney's office one of my main responsibilities was damage control or working to prevent issues on appeal.  In other words, when there was an emergency issue or problem my department dropped everything we were working on, pressed full steam ahead and found a solution or resolution to the emergency.  Most of the time we had less than 30 minutes to understand a complex issue, research it, and reach a decision.  Sometimes the emergency came in the middle of the night.  Sometimes it came when we had numerous other deadlines. Sometimes it was a federal judge waiting on us for advice. Sometimes it was a federal agent waiting on us for advice.  Sometimes it was defense counsel waiting to see what position we would take with regard to a client.  Sometimes we were not allowed to make the ultimate decision because we represented the Department of Justice.  Thus, we had to represent their views and positions, even if contrary to our individual views. However, contrary to what the public might think, the position was never about winning; the position was always about justice and doing what was right even if it meant confessing error and admitting our mistakes.

There is currently a push to do "damage control" in the pharmacy world and more specifically in the compounding world.  For example, in Forbes magazine dated 1/18/13 there is an article entitled, Pharma's Reputation Continues to Suffer -- What Can Be Done To Fix It?,  The article concludes with:

The pharmaceutical industry plays a valued and unique role in healthcare. The discovery and development of new drugs is largely driven by it. Any major treatment or cure for Alzheimer’s disease will likely come from these companies. Unfortunately, the importance of this industry is lost on the vast majority of patients due to the attacks on the industry’s credibility. It is time to take the necessary steps to change this negative perception.

Do you think the compound world has unfairly received a negative image after cases such as NECC and Franks?  If the compounding world has a negative image, what steps do you think the compounding world needs to take to change its negative perception after the NECC outbreak?  Do you think the compounding world has tried to take responsibility for the errors and mistakes made or do you think they have tried to shift blame to places like the FDA and state boards of pharmacies?  Do you have more trust and respect for compounding pharmacies and pharmacists when they admit there are mistakes in the industry and they work to find a solution rather than blaming the mistakes on others?  What type of damage control do you think needs to happen in both the pharmaceutical industry and more specifically in the compounding industry?