By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The meningitis outbreak linked to an injectable steroid is a stern warning for all of us why quality controls in the manufacture and distribution of health care products is so important.

In all of our hospitals throughout the country there are people who purchase products based on anticipated need in patient care. There are numerous protective measures put in place and official monitoring bodies like the Joint Commission regularly evaluate the complicated web of providing care.

There are similar regulating bodies in the manufacturing world but budget constraints and bureaucracy can get in the way. It is going to take some time to find out exactly what happened in this latest episode but the more important message is closely monitoring the protective measures and quality controls that must be put in place.