Drug label program launches

Montvale, N.J. - PDR Network, based here, has teamed with The Doctors Company to launch a national campaign to improve physicians’ awareness of changes in Food and Drug Administration (FDA) drug label guidelines.

According to a PDR Network statement, 25 percent of FDA-approved drugs found in the 2011 Physicians’ Desk Reference either were new or had significant changes to their labels since the PDR’s 2010 edition - an indication of the challenge doctors face in keeping up with such changes. Further, insurance statistics show that about 30 percent of medical malpractice suits are in some way medication-related - and in those cases, the FDA-approved labeling in force at the time is often the standard to which courts hold the involved physician.

“Know the Label” enables physicians to earn Continuing Medical Education (CME) credit online for reading full FDA-approved medication labeling. The free program can be accessed at PDR.net.

“We know that physicians and other prescribers are increasingly busy and can struggle to find time to stay current with all the changes in pharmaceutical labeling,” says Janet Woodcock, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, according to the PDR statement.

“We congratulate The Doctors Company and PDR Network for finding a practical and novel way for physicians to access the full updated labeling through electronic means and have it available at the point of prescribing. This effort dovetails nicely with our Safe Use Initiative and our intent to reduce preventable harm from pharmaceutical products.”