New "Core Page" Provides a Gateway to FDA Drug Safety Information
The FDA has begun a revision its web site in order to give patients easier access to all FDA information for a specific prescription drug. On May 5, 2005, the FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research created a new web page on the FDA site entitled "Drug Specific Information":
http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/DrugSafety/DrugIndex.htm
On this new FDA web page, patients are provided a new and simpler means by which to find all drug safety information which the FDA has for a specific drug. The new web page has a "gateway" format, such that clicking on the name of a particular drug (from the alphabetical list of prescription drug brand names and generic names) will take one to what the FDA characterizes as a "core page". On the new core page for a drug, the FDA has compiled links to all information on that drug which is available throughout the FDA site. If a new core page of FDA information has not been prepared, yet, for the prescription drug selected by the site user, one will reach a temporary single FDA information page regarding that particular drug.
On the new FDA web page, the introduction to this new internet tool states: "FDA is in the process of updating its drug safety information and making it available to consumers in a new, friendly format."
From our several visits to this new FDA web page since it was created in early May 2005, it seems that the agency is on the right track as concerns making FDA drug safety information more readily available to patients.
(Posted by: Tom Lamb)