Electronic drug alert goes live In USA

Drugmakers' support for HCNN "encouraging"

The USA-based Health Care Notification Network, a partnership of the American Medical Association, individual US states, the pharmaceutical industry and other stakeholders, has distributed its first electronic drug alert to physicians. The group, governed by the not-for-profit iHealth Alliance, said that this related to "a widely-manufactured and commonly-used class of antibiotics."

By sending the messages via the HCNN system, health care professionals no longer need to await the traditional "Dear Doctor" letter from the Food and Drug Administration, which is subject to the US Postal Service’s delivery times.

Janet Woodcock, the Director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said: "e-mail notification offers significant advantages over traditional mail delivery and helps ensure that we can adequately protect the health and safety of Americans."

Nancy Dickey, the former AMA president who chairs the iHealth Alliance, said: "the HCNN dramatically improves the process of notifying physicians of time-sensitive and important patient safety information." Adrian Thomas, US health care giant Johnson & Johnson’s chief safety officer, said he was "encouraged" by the scheme's recognition from other drugmakers.