MHRA asks Opinion Leader to assess the desirability of providing regulatory information about medicines online

Date: 15 February 2010

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the government agency responsible for making sure that medicines and medical devices work and are acceptably safe. The MHRA holds a comprehensive database of Summaries of Products Characteristics (SPCs) and Patient Information Leaflets (PILs) for all medicines it licenses.

The MHRA has commissioned Opinion Leader to assess the desirability of providing regulatory information about medicines online. The programme of research will involve in-depth interviews and focus groups with healthcare professionals including GPs, hospital doctors, nurses and pharmacists as well as patients, carers and other members of the public.

“We are very excited about being involved in this important and interesting project. Our experience of collating and synthesizing information from audiences with varying awareness and perspectives will be crucial in delivering the set objectives” said Farooq Malik, Consultant at Opinion Leader.

The focus will be on identifying the desirability of such a system and should one be implemented, where respondents could expect to find this information. It will also focus on how respondents could see such a system working, what sort of information they would like to see, how it should be presented and what kind of impact this online information will have.

Should the research identify a fundamental desirability for such a system, it will provide the MHRA with a clear picture of how an online database of information is likely to be received and used by the relevant audiences, and enable the delivery of a system that is effective and useful.

For more information please contact Farooq Malik