Industry wants to give information to patients direct
The pharmaceutical industry wants to target patients direct with more information about their drugs.
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical
Industry believes the information
that drug companies are allowed to include in patient information leaflets
is too restrictive and it wants the opportunity to offer patients more
advice about their
medicines.
The idea was put forward last week
when the ABPI was giving its evidence to
the House of Commons Health Select Committee inquiry into the influence
of the pharmaceutical industry.
An ABPI spokesman told The Journal: “It’s illegal for drug
companies to communicate anything direct to patients — the patient
information leaflet is just about it. If a patient phones the drug company
and asks a question about their medicines, we may well know the answer,
but we are not allowed to tell them and must refer them to their GP.
We have long felt that this system is archaic.”
The ABPI would like to offer internet-based medicines information, along
the lines of the service offered by drug companies to patients in America.
The spokesman denied that the service would be little more than advertising.
He said: “This isn’t about advertising the drugs — but
I agree there would have to be a fine line drawn somehow that defines
it. We aren’t pressing for the sort of things you get in America
where you get TV and journal
advertisements advertising drugs.”
The ABPI called on the Government to take steps to increase pharmaceutical
research and development by boosting the number of qualified scientists
in the UK and halting the attacks on the industry by animal rights extremists.
It should also reduce the cost and timescale of pharmaceutical research
in the UK.
Director general of the ABPI, Richard Barker, said: “While there
has been a long and fruitful partnership between the industry and the
NHS and other stakeholders, no system is perfect.”
The next public hearing in the inquiry is planned for 14 October. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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