Information about prescription medicines

Part of my work is providing medical information, and finding information about marketed products is not always easy, so I was very pleased to find that the European Medicines Agency has launched its EudraPharm database to the public. This information may not be of use to everyone – but I think it is relevant to mention it, particularly as the information will eventually be available in all the European languages. At present it is English language only.

The databases includes the summary of product characteristics, package leaflets and labelling of all medicines approved by the European Commission – so it is now possible to quickly look up any given medication, and find out if it is recombinant, method of application etc., etc. I found the site easy to navigate, but could not find the ‘package leaflets’ promised by the press release. I always find these informative leaflets printed in much too small a type and thought that the ability to print this out in larger type would be beneficial, not only for myself but also for others who have difficulty in reading the leaflet. So I have mailed EMEA for help.

It is really nice to see this sort of information made accessible to us who, when unfortunate enough to require medication, are the end users.

And for all of us information providers – unfortunately, no marketing data such as cost etc. is provided.