ITP Values

Excellent article in the always excellent RX Compliance Report on the Europe’s continuing debate over the dissemination of healthcare information.

European Commission proposal on patient information draws divergent views

The European Commission’s (EC) revised proposals on information to patients, released last month, drew divergent assessments across the Atlantic. The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), which represents research-based pharma companies operating in Europe, cautiously welcomed the amendments, urging all member states to adopt a “pragmatic approach” to address what it calls “the existing inequality” of access to quality data. “The revised proposals put rights, interests and safety of patients first,” insisted John Dalli, European Commissioner for health and consumer policy.

However, former FDA Commissioner for External Relations, Peter Pitts, spoke for many on this side of the Atlantic when he said the proposals appear to slow what had been a movement on the part of the EC to liberalize the industry’s ability to provide information about prescription drugs to patients. “That effort was on the ‘slow track’ before last month’s announcement,” says Pitts, who heads the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest in New York. “Now it’s on the ‘super slow track.”

International compliance expert, Paul Woods, says he is hopeful that the revised proposal will eventually be enacted in a form that will enable citizens all across Europe to have equal access to high quality non-promotional information about their prescription medicines. “The outcome, however, remains uncertain,” he says.

The complete RX Compliance Report article can be found here.

And a happy Thanksgiving to all.