Physicians and Patients Need More Education on Adverse Drug Reactions
Originally published by Reuters Health, November 16, 2001
WESTPORT, CT — Pharmaceutical companies and federal regulators fall short in their efforts to educate physicians and patients about adverse drug reactions, according to the editor of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
"Even when serious drug interactions are discovered, physicians, pharmacists and patients appear to remain unaware of them," Dr. John Hoey writes in an editorial in the November 13th issue of the Journal.
"Warnings go out, but prescribing patterns don't change," he told Reuters Health. "Companies and the US Food and Drug Association suggest that professionals are not doing their job. I think that's passing the buck."
One solution Dr. Hoey offers is to establish an agency independent of pharmaceutical companies and Health Canada to investigate and disseminate information about adverse drug reactions. He also recommends proactive investigation of suspected events.
"Billions of dollars are spent to promote the use of drugs," Dr. Hoey said, "while in comparison, an insignificant amount is spent to alert the public to their harmful effects. A company will issue a single 'dear health professional letter,' in which the warning is buried in the middle in the driest of language," he pointed out. "On the other hand, you open most medical journals and there you see numerous 2-page color ads. That's not balanced."
He concedes that the measures he recommends are expensive. However, so is advertising —and these costs are regularly passed on to the consumer, Dr. Hoey added. "I think if one is going to promote safety, society ought to be willing to spend some fraction of the marketing budget for that purpose. Politically and economically, it makes sense to tie the added costs to the drugs themselves, which are paid for by the consumer."
Dr. Hoey also recommends collaboration between countries. Thus, duplication of effort would be reduced, cost savings would be realized, and findings would perhaps be reported more quickly.
