Pfizer Limited Walton Oaks Dorking Road Walton-on-the-Hill Surrey. KT20 7NS

1.  Life is our life’s work. Information for Patients The concept of the ‘informed patient’ is increasingly common in modern healthcare, in part due to the positive role played by an increasing number of influential Patient Groups. Many patients will today arrive in their doctor’s surgery armed with information about their condition and possible treatments for it, often downloaded from the Internet. The fact that patients are no longer simply passive recipients of care poses a major challenge for the government, for healthcare professionals, for the health care system in which they work and the pharmaceutical industry. Information about healthcare and medicines is widely available on the Internet. Pharmaceutical companies are able to publish information about their products via the World Wide Web, so long as it is factual and truthful. Yet, in the UK, it is illegal to advertise prescription only medicines to the public. It is very often the case that information about particular medicines or conditions issued by third parties is misleading or wrong, but the rules have prevented the manufacturers – who know most about their medicines – from putting the record straight. We believe that it is important to provide health information to patients, as informed patients are empowered patients. Ensuring patient access to health information, including information on new medicines gives patients the opportunity to make better choices about their healthcare and become better users of healthcare resources. The European Union has in effect endorsed this position through its Directive requiring patient information leaflets to be included with every prescription medicine that is dispensed. Informed patients are likely to have a more meaningful dialogue with their doctor and comply with their treatment regimens. They are also more able to understand the risks and benefits of a given treatment. Informed patients are more willing to seek medical help for conditions that might otherwise go untreated, including asymptomatic diseases, based for example, on care management pathways.  The Way Forward Pfizer believes strongly in the need for a wider debate on the issue of ‘information to patients’. Such a debate should be focussed on the issue of providing clear, comprehensive information in a patient centred way. All interested groups need to be involved and represented in such a debate to ensure it remains relevant; including Patient Representatives, Healthcare Professionals, the Government and the Pharmaceutical Industry. I2P - 0903 Pfizer Limited Walton Oaks Dorking Road Walton-on-the-Hill Surrey. KT20 7NS www.pfizer.co.uk policyuk@pfizer.com Tel: 01737 330478 Fax: 01737 332526 2001 2000 2003 AWARDED TO PFIZER LIMITED