Pharmaceutical Industry

Poll: Public Wants Continued Review of Prescription Drugs

ROCHESTER, NY - More than nine out of ten U.S. adults (91%) feel that it is important that prescription drugs be subject to an ongoing review by the FDA and the drug companies themselves even after being approved and made available to the public, according to a recent Harris Poll. Individuals included in the 91% characterized the monitoring of prescription drugs as either highly important, very important, or important. The remaining nine percent of those surveyed said they felt that it was only somewhat important or not very important.

The poll which was conducted online between November 13 and November 20, 2006 surveyed 2,429 individuals, dividing those surveyed into four age groups: matures (those over the age of 60), baby boomers (those ages 42 to 60), generation X (those ages 30 to 41) and echo boomers (those ages 18 to 29).

Of the four groups, baby boomers were most passionate about having an ongoing review, with 74% of them rating it either highly important or very important. They were followed by generation X (73%), matures (71%) and echo boomers (64%).

Participants’ responses to another question in the survey showed that consumers are becoming more pro-active in healthcare decisions (prescription drugs) for themselves and loved ones. More than 41% of those surveyed replied that they seek out information on drug safety for themselves, a family member or someone they care for either always or often.

In this case, matures (48%) were found most vigilant in researching prescription drugs followed by baby boomers (46%), generation X (39%) and echo boomers (28%).

What was not mentioned in the survey was the FDA’s current post-marketing surveillance process and risk assessment programs designed to identify adverse effects that were not recognized during the approval process.