Dear E-Druggers.
The issue of counterfeit drugs has clearly stimulated a great deal of
interest in this forum. I write with a reminder and an invitation.
The International Conference on Improving Use of Medicines (ICIUM) will be
held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, from April 1-4, 1997. A notice about the
conference has previously been distributed to you all.
The reminder: The deadline for submitting abstracts is November 15.
Abstracts that are a bit late can be accepted, but delay is not encouraged.
Abstracts can be submitted to the ICIUM Scientific Committee either by fax
(+1 617-859-8112) or e-mail (icium@warren.med.harvard.edu). If you need
information on the structured format, please send an e-mail message.
The invitation: I think the topic of counterfeit drugs and their impact on
patterns of use should clearly be presented at the conference. Anyone with
data on the prevalence of counterfeit drugs, or the impact of poor quality
drugs on the attitudes or behavior of health providers and consumers is
encouraged to send an abstract to ICIUM. I was also struck by Paul Spivey's
question "What are we going to do about it?" Is there any experience
demonstrating that regulatory oversight or quality control programs make a
dent in this problem?
Dennis Ross-Degnan
Dept. Ambulatory Care and Prevention
Harvard Medical School