Information for patients on medicines

doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7524.1034

BMJ 2005;331:1034-1035 (5 November), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7524.1034

Editorial

Information for patients on medicines

Should be much more accessible and patient centred

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The traditional model for communicating with patients abouttheir medicines is that doctors decide the best treatment andpatients follow their doctors' instructions with only limitedindependent access to information about treatment. The Associationof the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) is now reviewingits code of practice,¹ and this is an important opportunityto move to a more modern view of patients—as partnersof health professionals and decision makers in relation to theirhealth. The main aim of the code is to protect patients frompotentially harmful influence. It currently focuses heavilyon regulating the pharmaceutical industry's communications withhealth professionals and imposes highly restrictive conditionson direct communication with patients. This model is seriouslyflawed.

The ABPI code of practice should reflect the increasing rolethat patients are taking in decisions about their health andtreatment, as well as patients' entitlement to access informationfrom any source they . . . [Full text of this article]

Joanne M Shaw, director

(jshaw@medicines-partnership.org)
Medicines Partnership, London SE1 7JN

Geraldine Mynors, head of projects, Caroline Kelham, project manager

Medicines Partnership, London SE1 7JN

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