FDA hearing examines regulations for medical information promoted online

A 2-day public hearing held by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to assess the policing of information for prescription drugs and medical devices promoted via the Internet began Thursday in Washington, D.C.

Speakers at the hearing include representatives from advertising agencies, Internet companies and pharmaceutical companies as well as health care professionals and nonprofit organization members. Some topics discussed included how to effectively include drug risks within the confines of social media tools such as Twitter, which allows only 140 characters, as well as which social media sites are the most popular sources of medical information for consumers.

The hearing comes after the FDA sent warnings in April to 14 pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline, because the companies did not include drug risks in online search engine advertisements. Also, industry observers have recently indicated that some pharmaceutical companies are avoiding use of the Internet due to a lack of clear FDA guidelines about how agency-regulated products should be presented online.

In addition, the need for more concrete guidelines has become apparent due to heavy consumer use of the Internet for medical information during the past several years. Wayne T. Gattinella, director, president and CEO of WebMD, said during his presentation that 75% of physicians recommend Web sites for their patients to consult after leaving the office.

"Consumers turn to the Web more often than the traditional channels they historically relied on," he said.

Some speakers discussed the concerns with consumer-edited Web sites, such as Wikipedia, in which anyone can edit the medical information that is presented. Therefore, information may end up being incomplete or inaccurate, according to Diana Zuckerman, PhD, president of the National Research Center for Women and Families.

"Because the risk of providing inaccurate information on medical products is so high, the FDA needs to establish ongoing relationships with Web sites that consumers are relying on," Dr. Zuckerman said.

Other suggestions on how the FDA can improve the quality of information that is presented to and received by consumers included marking credible sites with an FDA "seal of approval" or having FDA members "friend" consumers on social media sites such as Facebook.

Presentations will continue today.