Physicians: Enroll today in HCNN Drug Alert Network

April 24, 2008

The AMA actively supports the new e-mail drug safety alert system, the Health Care Notification Network (HCNN). The HCNN was created to immediately relay drug and medical device recalls and safety notices to physicians. Visit the Web site to enroll. It’s free and takes only a few minutes.

Developed by Medem in cooperation with AMA, the HCNN improves patient safety by efficiently delivering safety notices that traditionally have been sent on paper via the U.S. Postal Service.

The HCNN has the following benefits:

• It’s free to physicians and is only used for patient safety notices. It includes no advertising or other use of physician information.
• It’s much faster and more efficient than the current paper-based patient safety alerts. Delays in delivery of alerts can increase liability risk.
• Physicians can designate office staff members to receive HCNN alerts in order to facilitate patient follow up when needed.
• Physicians can opt out at any time.

More than 90 percent of U.S. physicians surveyed said they would prefer receiving drug safety alerts via e-mail. The majority of U.S. liability insurance carriers are actively promoting the HCNN to their insured physicians.

The AMA supports the HCNN by encouraging physicians to register, and by providing assistance for physicians who need help with the online enrollment process. Contact us:

• By phone: (800) 621-8335
• By fax: (312) 464-5831
• By e-mail: ama-subs@ama-assn.org

The HCNN can be used to deliver FDA-mandated patient safety notices on behalf of pharmaceutical and device manufacturers or the FDA. The use of HCNN is governed by the iHealth Alliance, a not-for-profit organization.