The FDA has launched two new websites to provide information for consumers and industry about how FDA regulates the promotion of medical products. The “Advertising Prescription Drugs and Medical Devices” website provides a “one-stop shop” portal to information on FDA regulation of medical product promotion. Industry and policy users can get directly to relevant laws, regulations, and guidances. This site can be found at http://www.fda.gov/oc/promotion/ The direct-to-consumer (DTC) Web site, “Be Smart about Prescription Drug Advertising: A Guide for Consumers” is designed to educate consumers about how to view such advertising to help inform their discussions with healthcare providers, and consequently to help improve patient understanding and medical care. This site can be found at: http://www.fda.gov/cder/ethicad/index.htm The FDA has recognized the need to provide relevant information that is also engaging and useful. Toward this goal, the DTC site:* uses interactive example ads for fictitious drugs to illustrate the different requirements for different types of ads. This helps users learn in both a visual and written manner. * includes a list of questions consumers should ask themselves when they see a prescription drug ad. Consumers can print out this list and use it to help discussions with their healthcare providers. The DTC site is the first FDA Web site to offer a site-specific survey to give FDA feedback about how well the site addresses users’ needs. Users can answer the survey by clicking on the “Give us feedback” tab. The DTC site is also an example of how public-private partnerships can create valuable outcomes for the public. The site was created in collaboration with EthicAd, an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping consumers, healthcare professionals, and the pharmaceutical and advertising industries in the area of DTC advertising for prescription drugs. (www.ethicad.org) A number of other FDA sites will link to the DTC site. During its initial launch it is being featured on both FDA’s and CDER’s Home pages.
