The EU's High Level Pharmaceutical Forum was established in early 2006 and is jointly chaired by Commissioners Günter Verheugen and Markos Kyprianou.

The working group on Information to Patients has the mission “to advise the Commission on ways to improve the quality of information on authorised medicines available to European patients”. It published its first progress report last September.

Whereas information sources on the Internet on health and diseases abound, EU law regards as advertising any product information from manufacturers directed at patients. Who should provide information and under what conditions?

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For further reading, see these related publications:

	First Progress Report of the Pharmaceutical High Level Forum (from ec. europa.eu)
	"Direct to Consumer Information: For and Against" by Dan Troy (CNE, July 2004)

 

Jorgo Chatzimarkakis (Ph.D) is a German parliamentarian and one of the three MEPs participating in the High-Level Pharmaceutical Forum. He will discuss how the EU Directive could be amended to allow for quality information within the advertising ban.

Stephen McMahon is Chairman of the Irish Patients Association (IPA), based in Dublin and is a voice for patients in Ireland. The Irish Patients Association listens and learns from the many experiences of patients and their families. The ultimate goal of the Association is a world class, patient centred health care system that is built on trust.