'EP Health Committee vote on patient information: A step forward, but still some to go'

Commenting on the vote of the European Parliament’s Health Committee on the proposed new legislation to improve patient access to health and medicines information, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) said the the proposals represent one element of the European Commission’s 2008 “Pharmaceutical Package,” along with proposals on falsified medicines and pharmacovigilance.

Brian Ager, Director General of the EFPIA, said: “The European Parliament is to be commended for its pragmatic approach to these proposals. This contrasts with the situation in a number of member states, where there has been a reluctance to even discuss options for providing citizens and patients with improved access to information about their illnesses and treatments.” He continued: “Such an approach ignores the reality of the modern information society, and perpetuates inequalities of access to information that currently exists between member states.”

“Today’s vote represents a step forward in the long-running debate on patients’ access to information. However, to be effective and add real value for patients, any new legislation must provide a viable legal framework. It should build on existing best practice within the EU, and not introduce costly and unnecessary bureaucracy, delivering neither real benefit in the quality of information nor public health gains,” Mr Ager concluded.