Information to patients debate in EU

The inaugural meeting of the European Union think-tank, the High-Level Pharmaceutical Forum, has been presented with a background report by the Friends of Europe on the information to patients issue.

The report describes the present situation and regulations that prohibit direct-to-consumer information by drugmakers, as well as acceptable boundaries for health promotion and disease prevention, explaining the role of the EU in this area. The FoE has also included a policy framework for discussion and raises a number of questions for debate.

Among these is the debate on whether the demand for health care information in Europe is "really driven by public opinion or primarily the product of health care elites and the pharmaceutical industry." The Marketletter recently published a Monitor on the issue of Internet self-diagnosis and drug supply (September 4).