A
new network to deliver drug safety alerts online to U.S. physicians was launched
last week, replacing a widely criticized and decades-old system based upon paper
and U.S. mail. The Health Care
Notification Network ("HCNN") is the result of a three-year effort
and an unprecedented collaboration between U.S. medical society leaders, liability
carriers, health plans, consumer advocacy groups, government leaders, and industry,
including major pharmaceutical manufacturers.
The HCNN will also be available
for rapid communication with physicians in the event of emergency public health
or bio-terror events.
Recent
surveys of practicing physicians reveal that well over 90% of physicians want
drug safety alerts sent immediately online instead of on paper via U.S. mail,
and well over half wish to have a copy of the alerts also sent online to office
staff. The network is free to all licensed U.S. physicians, and is used solely
for patient safety alerts, not for advertising or promotion. It ensures the most
rapid and effective delivery of important alerts to physicians, thereby improving
patient safety and office efficiency while reducing liability and paperwork.
"Relying
on paper-based U.S. mail and weeks of delay to deliver time-urgent patient safety
alerts to doctors in 2008 is indefensible and unsafe," explained Nancy Dickey,
MD, former American Medical Association president and chair of the Health Alliance,
the not-for-profit board that governs the new HCNN service. "After a few
years of work with the FDA and many other partners, we are finally moving from
the Paper Age into the Internet Age in terms of patient safety alerts. We encourage
all U.S. physicians to take 2 minutes and enroll today at http://www.hcnn.net.
Physicians and their patients will realize immediate benefit."
"The
majority of U.S. liability carriers are asking their insured physicians to enroll
today in the HCNN because delivering product recalls and warnings immediately
online has the potential to directly improve patient safety and reduce malpractice
claims-and, ultimately, decrease malpractice insurance premiums," said iHealth
Alliance Board Member, David Troxel, MD, medical director for The Doctors Company,
the country's largest physician-owned liability carrier.
The iHealth Alliance
credits FDA leadership for making the HCNN and immediate online patient safety
alerts for physicians a reality, as the FDA recently updated its guidance for
the pharmaceutical and device industry, and now actively encourages the use of
online networks for patient safety alerts.
"Letters
to health care providers often are screened by one or more 'gatekeepers' and may
not reach the intended recipients -- the providers who need the drug information
for treating patients," explained Janet Woodcock, MD, deputy commissioner
for Scientific and Medical Programs, CMO, and acting director Center for Drug
Evaluation and Research U.S. FDA. "Gatekeepers often discard these important
paper-based alerts as 'junk mail.' We applaud the efforts of Dr. Dickey and her
board to improve the delivery of important patient safety alerts to U. S. physicians."
"Rapid delivery of drug safety information is critical in order for
us to provide high quality care to our patients based on the latest data,"
said Jack Lewin, MD, chief executive officer of the American College of Cardiology
(ACC). "We are confident that cardiologists will enroll and immediately appreciate
the benefits of the HCNN. By taking advantage of this network, we can streamline
care and save costs."
Manufacturers,
led by Johnson & Johnson and the pharmaceutical industry group PhRMA, have
lent their support and leadership to the HCNN, which is devoted exclusively to
communicating urgent patient safety alerts to physicians -- it includes no advertising.
The HCNN is funded by manufacturers that use the new online network and currently
pay for U.S. mail delivery of paper-based alerts.
"As
part of our longstanding commitment to product and patient safety, Johnson &
Johnson is proud to be a founding member of the Health Care Notification Network,"
said Adrian Thomas, MD, chief safety officer and global head Benefit Risk Management,
Johnson & Johnson. "We believe this system will provide a timely, effective
and efficient system to distribute important medical safety information to America's
physicians."
"The entire pharmaceutical industry is united behind
a commitment to patient safety and improved speed and efficacy in delivery of
alerts to U.S. physicians," added Alan Goldhammer, PhD, associate vice president,
Regulatory Affairs for PhRMA.
Also joining the HCNN effort is the America's
Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) trade group, as well as numerous health plans including
Aetna and Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), the parent company of Blue Cross
Blue Shield of Texas, Illinois, Oklahoma and New Mexico.
"Making
health care safer is critically important to improving the quality of life for
patients. Success will depend on collaborative partnerships such as the HCNN and
leveraging technology to deliver information in ways that enable doctors to take
more timely actions," said Troyen Brennan, MD, Aetna's chief medical officer.
"Aetna is pleased to support this effort and our ongoing focus on patient
safety by encouraging participating physicians to enroll."
"Improved
patient safety and reduced drug risk impacts health, costs and quality of care,"
explained Paul Handel, MD, chief medical officer of HCSC. "We are aggressively
reaching out to our physicians to encourage their enrollment in the HCNN."
Registration
for U.S. physicians is available immediately at www.hcnn.net,
and tens of thousands of physicians have already enrolled as a result of recent
outreach efforts from liability carriers.
4/01/08
Source
U.S.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Drug Alerts Sent Instantly to U.S. Doctors
via Email on New National Network. Press Release. March 25 2008.
