From now through March 26, the FDA is accepting public comments on its proposed rules to govern how pharmaceutical companies use social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Google+.
According to the draft rules, unsolicited requests for information made via social media sites should be responded to privately and not via social media.
Pharmaceutical companies are asking for more guidance from the FDA. They want to know how to handle other potentially tricky social media situations such as:
- Whether they are liable for information posted by others on their social media site. For example, if a doctor or patient posts bad information on a social media site for particular drug or drug company, who is liable if someone relies on that information?
- What to do about drug adverse event, or side effect, reports left on social media sites instead of through proper channels?
What do you think about drug companies’ use of social media? Is it useful to you or do you think it could be potentially dangerous? Please leave a comment with your thoughts on this important topic.
