AZ Health Connections

Principles for product-related online dialogue

AstraZeneca believes health care companies have an obligation to responsibly engage in social media to help patients, caregivers and prescribers make informed decisions about our medicines.

 

Today, AstraZeneca published guidance we submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for pharmaceutical companies to engage in online conversations on branded medicines. Our guidance was in response to the FDA’s published call for comments back in September and two days of public hearings held in November.

 

At the core of our proposal are five important principles

 

 

1. Truth and Accuracy: Content that is truthful, balanced, accurate, and not misleading

2. Be Respectful: Respect the interests of patients, caregivers, and health care providers, particularly related to matters of privacy and the primacy of the patient/physician relationship

3. Protect and Advance Patient Health: Provide accurate and timely reporting on medicine safety

4. Transparency: Any sponsorship should be entirely transparent as to the role of product sponsors as participants in online discusions

5. Respect the Views of Others: Acknowledge other opinions but don’t censor or limit these views; rather, add the product sponsor's views tothe ongoing discussions

This blog represents a corporate presence in social media but, we, like many others, believe it is increasingly important to provide accurate, timely and regulated information about our branded products in conversations with patients, caregivers, and health care providers.

The general public indisputably turns to the Internet for health information and the amount of incomplete or erroneous information that is being published and distributed in social media is concerning. But we can’t be part of these conversations without FDA guidance.

If companies like AstraZeneca are absent in these conversations, where will consumers turn for accurate, timely and regulated information? 

What do you think?  Please review AstraZeneca’s FDA submission and let us know your thoughts.

Click here to view AstraZeneca’s full FDA submission

Pharma Blogs Face Unique Challenges

“PharmExecBlog’s" Andrew Sheivachman has published one of the first stories related to the launch of our blog.

We are presented with some unique challenges  when it comes to mentioning specific products or disease states on our blog, but despite the critical headline, it’s also wrong for anyone to assume that this is how we want things to be.  We believe it is critical for patients and doctors to have accurate information about AstraZeneca medicines. That’s why our corporate website www.astrazeneca-us.com provides a wealth of information about our products. We’ve also provided the number for our information center (1-800-236-9933) in our blog comments policy. Anyone with questions about our medicines can call this number and get answers immediately. We believe that questions about products deserve fast answers, from live people, and we are happy to offer this service.

Can more be done to help provide accurate, balanced and timely information about our products, especially through social media channels? Yes, of course. But what the PharmaExec blog post labels as “close corporate scrutiny,” I see as responsibility.  While adding any extra level of “scrutiny” to the comments we receive may mean it will take longer for us to respond to a comment, this is how we will operate for now.

On my October 19^th blog I wrote about  the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) holding a public forum to discuss the role of the Internet and social media tools.  We applaud this decision and look forward to their engagement. In the meantime, we hope our early steps into social media will lead to more meaningful and helpful conversations with those who care about our company and the medicines we make.

FDA Sets Meeting to Discuss Pharma Promotion on the Internet & Social Media

The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has recently announced they'll be holding a public forum to discuss the role of the Internet and social media tools to promote medical products.  We applaud this decision.  After all, the online world is evolving every day and we must all work together to harness its power in sharing timely and trustworthy health news.

Some people might wonder why the FDA would take these steps.  Why can't we just use the guidelines that pharmaceutical companies have been following for years?  Well, that's the problem.  The guidelines were established years ago.  Television and print were the main conduits of information and they didn't offer the levels of interactivity we enjoy with the Internet.

This hearing, which is to be held November 12 and 13 in Washington, D.C., will touch on five key topics:

1) The extent to which manufacturers are accountable for product information online
2) How fair balance information should be presented in light of space limitations
3) The parameters for correcting inaccurate product information
4) The use of links
5) The reporting of adverse events

This forum is just a first step. But it’s an important one and it shows the agency’s attention to this changing medium. What do you think about this issue? Do you think they need to re-invent the wheel, or can current regulations and guidelines be slightly tweaked and adapted to work in our online world?

To learn more about the FDA meeting on the Internet and social media click on the link below.
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-22618.htm