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Consumer faith in pharmaceuticals must be a little shaky right now. After hearing about NSAID risks, flu vaccine shortages and then surpluses, and now new concerns about eczema drugs, patients may be growing wary of their prescriptions. What can a drug company do to assure patients that their prescriptions can be used safely, even if there are risks?

Provide as much product information as possible directly to patients, and make it as clear as possible. Abbey Meyers, president of the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD), says that patients need “understandable patient information leaflets provided with each prescription.” Meyers recently participated in a press briefing on a consumer poll that showed public confidence in FDA has slipped a bit in recent months.

The study was conducted by Lake Snell Perry Mermin & Associates. It showed that since November 2004, when the last poll was taken, the amount of respondents with a great deal of confidence in FDA’s ability to ensure drug safety has slipped from 21% to 14%. The percentage of respondents with not much confidence or none at all has grown from 29% to 37%. Interestingly, the percentage of respondents with a moderate amount of confidence in FDA has not changed much, slipping only one percentage point from 49% to 48%.

Several patient advocates joined Meyers for a press briefing to discuss the results. The call was hosted by Celinda Lake of Lake Snell Perry Mermin & Associates. While most of the discussion centered on consumer confidence in FDA, many did speak about the need for better patient information, as Meyers is quoted above. While no one claimed that study respondents were calling for better patient labeling, it was suggested that gaps in labeling may hinder patients’ understanding. And patients can’t have much confidence in products they do not understand.

Diana Zuckerman, PhD, president of the National Research Center for Women & Families (Washington, DC) who also participated in the briefing, said that patients “shouldn’t have warnings in microscopic type.” Also, labeling cannot be “unintelligible.” For instance, I believe that larger type sizes and easy-to-follow language for patient inserts may help increase consumer understanding of drug benefits and risks.

Manufacturers currently rely on pharmacies to disseminate information to patients, but that may not be enough. Arthur Levin of the Center for Medical Consumers says that “pharmacy information fails to meet patient needs. Most consumer advocates believe that consumers need more information in their hands.” He adds that he has been fighting for mandated consumer-understandable information for 30 years.”

Will complete drug labeling provided directly from manufacturers to patients improve consumer confidence in FDA or in pharmaceuticals? No one knows for sure. But clearer drug information—and more of it—will educate them on proper prescription use, outlining risks and benefits. And that information can only make patients feel better about their prescriptions.