Wider public debate on drug safety needed
New ways of communicating with the public about the benefits and risks of drugs are needed, Keith Beard, Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, said earlier this week.
He was speaking in advance of a conference on drug safety held in Edinburgh
on 25 January. Health care professionals, patient groups, policy makers,
the pharmaceutical industry and regulators met to discuss how monitoring
of drug safety could be improved and how emerging risks could be communicated
more accurately.
Dr Beard, who was the lead organiser of the event, said: “Examples
such as Vioxx highlight the importance of improving existing systems
for monitoring drug safety. This is an area in which we cannot be complacent,
but new research tools and recent regulatory changes in Europe will lend
support to our efforts.”
He added: “No drug is completely safe, and we must also seek better
methods of communicating about benefit and risk with the public, so that
individuals can make better informed choices about their treatments.
We need to encourage greater openness, but also greater responsibility
from some quarters of the media, where the temptation to pen a strong
headline can cause unnecessary alarm.” |
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Pharmaceutical Journal
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