New FDA rules require that the information sheets accompanying prescription drugs be clear and direct — at least more so than they currently are.
The sheets, which the industry refers to as labels, will highlight vital information that docs need to know to prescribe a drug safely, including warnings, recent changes to the label, how to use the drug and what the dose the drug follows. There will also be a section specifying what doctors should tell patients about the drug.
Because the labels will be less obtuse than they currently are, FDA officials expect that drug advertising will change dramatically. Presumably if you can’t be obscure in one place, it isn’t allowed in the other either.
The new information will be integrated into the electronic label that drug companies are required to submit to the FDA. The expectation is that this will make detailed drug information more accessible to the public.
This could be a big step in the right direction.