Communication is the key – How is the FDA extending communication on Threats to Public Safety?

To better reach the public on safety issues throughout the pharmaceutical supply chain, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is collaborating with WebMD. This will allow the FDA to expand its Consumer Health Information and give the consumers important information on product recalls and emerging public health safety issues in a timely manner.

FDA’s website currently gets 6 million viewers a month from the regulatory pharmaceutical industry while the WebMD site is geared to consumers and gets 49 million viewers a month.

This extends the FDA’s current efforts in consumer communications such as “Andy’s Take” which is a weekly online audio broadcast on the FDA initiatives in ensuring public safety.

Consumers can access the latest FDA information on WebMD’s “Protect Your Health” page. Information is provided for food safety, medication safety, cosmetic safety, product recalls and a guide to reporting problems to the FDA.

We, at XStream Systems applaud the FDA on their expansion of communication with the general public. This combined with patient’s ability to communicate problems back to the FDA completes the two-way communication needed between patients and the authority that regulates their medications.