In a new Harris Interactive/HealthDay online survey (conducted in mid-April, via a nationally representative sample of 2,495 adults aged 18 and over), 47 percent of respondents believe the FDA does a poor job when it comes to monitoring the safety and effectiveness of new prescription drugs.
The good news is that this is an improvement over the 58 percent disapproval rating noted in a similar poll last year.
Some other interesting findings:
* 49 percent of Americans have a negative view of the job the FDA is doing. 48 percent have a positive assessment.
* 6 percent of respondents say that the FDA's oversight of imported foods is "excellent.” 21 percent say it’s "poor."
* 8 percent of poll respondents feel the agency is doing an "excellent" job of making sure new prescription drugs are safe and effective, or monitoring the safety of prescription drugs after they arrive on the market.
* 11 percent believe the FDA does an "excellent" job of handling recalls of prescription drugs. Overall, 43 percent think the agency's handling of recalls is "good," 28 percent "fair," and 12 percent "poor."
* 56 percent of those surveyed feel positively about how the FDA handles food recalls, while 40 percent feel negatively. Confidence about drug recalls was less robust.
* 59 percent said they feel that food safety should be the FDA's most important priority, followed by ensuring the safety and effectiveness of prescription drugs (37 percent). The safety of imported food came in third at 30 percent.
* 47 percent of respondents felt negative and an equal number positive about how the FDA ensures the safety and effectiveness of new prescription drugs. In 2004, 56 percent were positive and 37 percent were negative.
* More individuals (53 percent) felt positive than negative (40 percent) about how the FDA handles drug recalls in 2009, versus an opposite trend in 2008: 39 percent positive and 53 percent negative.
* Roughly the same percentage of people feel positive and negative about how the FDA monitors drugs after they are approved.
* About one-third (35 percent) of respondents say the FDA approves new drugs too slowly, 19 percent too quickly, and 18 percent think the process is about right.
* Only one-quarter feel "very confident" about the safety of over-the-counter medicines such as cough and cold medicines; 24 percent feel the same about prescription drugs, both brand names and generics. But only 14 percent feel this way about herbal remedies and nutritional supplements.
Obviously, some of these findings are somewhat contradictory – and that’s not surprising considering that many of the questions overlap and the responses are based on what people “think” they know about the FDA. But, all that aside, it is a snapshot in time of people’s general attitudes about the agency that regulates more than a quarter of the American economy.
What explains the improvement of the numbers year-over-year? Is the “Obama FDA” in April 2009 any different from the “Bush FDA” from January 2008? The answer, technically, is nothing is different. But with a new administration (and particularly this one) comes higher expectations. And the agency’s expeditious approach to pistachios seems to have given the FDA a kick-start to public redemption.
Well, nuts!
