Limitations of information and brand-specificity need to be clarified
The public will need to be informed of the potential limitations of the available information (e.g. may not be applicable for unlicensed indications), and slight differences in information/characteristics of different brands of the same medication. This may be included as a disclaimer on the website.
It would also be useful if have explanations of common concepts (e.g. incidence of side effects) in layman terms.
The emc website is currently accessible to the public, but isn't currently publicised. An idea is for the current emc website to be further developed to support public use (rather than setting up a whole new website) and being publicised. The web address may also be changed to a shorter/simpler one. Paper PILs should continue to exist.
Why the contribution is important
It is important for the public to know the limitations of available information as a little information can be a dangerous thing. They also need to be informed of possible differences between various brands in terms of licensing and formulation.
A common website would be potentially useful for many people, especially those of the computer generation. However, this should not lead to the loss of paper PILs as these are useful for those with no computer access.
The current emc website has been improved and is easy to use. This website may be further developed in conjunction with the ABPI to save the extra effort of setting up a whole new website. The web address of the emc website (www.emc.medicines.org.uk) will need to be shortened/simplified to enable easier public access, and will require good publicity to ensure it is fully utilised.
Hyeoh argues that the web address of the eMC website will need to be shortened/simplified and publicised to enable easier public access. Whilst we are not opposed to this in principle, our analysis of web traffic and detailed research on the needs and behaviour of on-line medicines information seekers tell an important story.
Most people looking for medicine information on-line use Google rather than go directly to a destination site. Search engine optimisation is therefore more important than either publicity or having any particular URL, which is why we pay so much attention to this key aspect of accessibility.
Posted by Lawrence Berry (lberry@medicines.org.uk), Datapharm CEO