Lack of clear regulatory authority and chronic underfunding at the Food and Drug Administration are among the problems hampering the agency's ability to monitor its post-market drug safety program, according to a recent report released by the Institute of Medicine.

The study was released as part of a drug safety initiative launched by the FDA in 2005 which was intended to help get drug safety information to the public and health care professionals quicker and to make the agency's drug review and monitoring process more transparent.