E-DRUG: FDA Announces the Use of New Electronic Drug Labels
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Dear E-Drug,
The US Food & Drug Administration announced last week that they will start
using electronic drug package inserts ("labels"). This is to better inform
the public and health care providers and to improve patient safety, and
will allow the FDA the possibility of releasing "strengthened warnings" and
"minor edits". All electronic will be available on-line and will be
searchable to patients -- and anyone, anywhere, which is why this might be
of interest to E-Drug. The press release is available at:
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2005/NEW01252.html
The label information will be kept by a new interagency online health
information clearinghouse called "DailMed". Their URL is:
http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov
When I checked this last week, there was only one medicine "label" posted
-- select either "All" or the letter "E" to see the entry for Edecrin
(Ethacrynic acid).
Hope this is useful to some when it's fully up & running -- in about a year.
Regards,
Libby Levison
public health consultant
Boston, MA
libby@theplateau.com