Pfizer launches new website on medication safety
TRENTON, N.J. -- Amid the deluge of drug advertising and news about safety issues, plenty of patients are bewildered over how to weigh the risks and benefits of a medication, or even how to find out what they are.
The world's biggest drug company is taking a crack at making that easier with a new website on medication safety — unusual in an industry often criticized as using marketing practices that oversell drug benefits and downplay risks.
Pfizer, which gave The Associated Press an exclusive preview of the site, launched it Monday morning.
The New York-based maker of Viagra and cholesterol fighter Lipitor plans to promote the site by working with medical and patient advocacy groups, as well as with online advertising on websites targeting medical professionals and patients.
The detailed site includes sections written for patients and for health professionals, with plain-English explanations, engaging graphics and clips of video hosts discussing important points. It has a prominent link to information about how to report a drug side effect to Medwatch, the Food and Drug Administration reporting program.
In-depth sections include a timeline that covers steps taken to monitor a drug's safety from initial testing until well after it's on the market, and how the pharmaceutical industry, regulatory agencies and health professionals work together and with patients to try to ensure safety. Another section gives some insight on weighing risks, showing how people tend to fear unlikely things, like being in an airplane crash, more than common risks such as heart disease.
And a key fourth section details what patients should know, tell their doctor and ask about every time they are prescribed a medicine; how to decide whether its risks are acceptable, and how to interpret what's on a prescription bottle.
Two doctors who are frequent industry critics called the site a good first step in communicating to the public the need to balance the risks and benefits of medicines.
