MHRA’s medicines information discussion site goes live
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the government watchdog responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work and are acceptably safe, has commissioned an online discussion site asking the public whether key information about medicines should be available online.
The discussion site, aimed at health professionals and the public, asks whether making the MHRA’s definitive database of patient information leaflets (PILs) and Summary of Product Characteristics (SPCs) available online is a good idea and, if so, what the site should look like.
Every medicine pack includes a PIL, which provides information on using the medicine safely. PILs are based on the SPCs – a description of a medicinal product’s properties and the conditions attached to its use.
The MHRA is considering making this information accessible via the internet, so that members of the public can look up key information about medicines, such as ingredients and side effects. They would also like to know the benefits to the public and healthcare professionals of having an authoritative, up-to-date database available at their fingertips.
Jan MacDonald, Acting Group Manager Information for Public Health, says ‘Timely access to up-to-date information about the medicines we are using is essential for safe and effective use. We want to know what patients, the public and healthcare professionals want to know about medicines and how we can best deliver this’.
The discussion will run from 8th February to 8th March. The discussion site can be found at http://www.medinfodiscussion.org/.
For more information please contact
Susan Frade
Patient and Public Engagement Manager
