NONE: ONLINE-ADS>> Call to Medical Site WebMasters and Advertisers
ONLINE-ADS>> Call to Medical Site WebMasters and Advertisers
John Mack (johnmack_at_virsci.com)
Wed, 30 Oct 1996 13:49:09 -0400
Dear Medical Webmasters, Medical Internet Developers and friends:
On October 16 and 17 of 1996 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held a
public meeting entitled "FDA and the Internet: Advertising and Promotion
of Medical Products." While the meeting did not set any new regulations, it
did bring home to the need for independent medical publishers on the
Internet to certify that they adhere to a set of standards. Such standards
would help the pharmaceutical industry, patients, and medical professionals
decide which sites are reputable.
Patients and health professionals surfing the net need a way to recognize
credible sources of accurate medical information and recognize what is
peer-reviewed vs. approved labeling vs. promotional information.
As Internet medical information "publishers," setting standards would be
GOOD for our advertisers because it would help them decide which sites to
support and relieve them of the task of monitoring sites. It would be GOOD
for us because we would set the standards instead of the FDA or each
advertiser, a situation which could result in multiple conflicting
standards. Finally, it would be GOOD for our readers who are searching for
credible medical information.
Consequently, I am initiating this call to medical Internet developers to
form an association or alliance or at least to develop a professional code
of conduct that would set standards for medical publishing on the
Internet. This process requires answers to a unique set of questions (many
of which were discussed at the FDA public meeting). Take Web links, for
example. Used unscrupulously, links could lead readers to biased
information without their knowledge. Should there be some indication that
you may be leaving the site when you click on a link? When are these links
advertising and when not? Shouldn't it be made clear to the reader what is
advertising and what is editorial? The answers to these kinds of questions
are what will distinguish between reputable medical Internet publishers and
unreputable ones.
WHAT TO DO
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1. Read the FDA meeting highlights and commentary on PharmInfoNet
(http://pharminfo.com/conference/fda_summ.html).
2. Contribute to the discussion of the issues via MEDWEBMASTERS-L, a
listserv set up for this purpose (available after Oct 30 ,1996). To
subscribe to this closed and moderated list, send the message (after Oct
30)
SUBSCRIBE MEDWEBMASTERS-L your name
to LISTSERV_at_SHRSYS.HSLC.ORG
You will be asked to complete a short application/survey before being
subscribed to the list.
3. Contact your list of webmasters and other medical Internet developers
and invite them to join the discussion. Place a notice on your web site.
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John Mack johnmack_at_virsci.com 1-215-949-0490 FAX: 215-949-2594
President, VirSci Corporation www.virsci.com
2761 Trenton Road, Levittown, PA 19056 USA
Owner/Developer of PharmInfoNet (http://pharminfo.com/)
MODERATOR: CLINICAL-TRIALS, CARDIO-CONSULT, MSB-L (LISTSERV_at_SHRSYS.HSLC.ORG)
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