Alliance Aims to Modernize Rx Info

Top pharmaceutical companies have come together to launch the Alliance to Modernize Prescribing Information (AMPI), which was formed to improve patient safety and reduce environmental waste by modernizing paper pharmaceutical prescribing information used by physicians and pharmacists.

The main goal of the organization — led by members from AbbVie, AmerisourceBergen, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Mylan, Pfizer, and Teva — is to champion regulatory or legislative reforms to facilitate the dissemination of FDA-approved pharmaceutical labeling information through modern digital platforms.

“The current paper-dependent system that was put into place over 50 years ago is outdated and not compatible with today’s technological flow of patient safety information, and is out of step with environmental sustainability,” explained Mark Hendrickson, spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based group. “The continued requirement that pharmaceutical companies send information in bulky paper attachments that can be outdated for months before updates are made is a wasteful use of paper and does not serve the best interest of patients, particularly when the information is readily available online.”

Annually, the nearly 6 billion prescriptions filled in the United States must include a paper package insert. These inserts can be as long as 45 printed pages, while the same information can be found online. AMPI will work to ensure up-to-date patient safety information and reduce paper waste.

AMPI unites technical expertise, real-world experience, regulatory knowledge, public policy understanding, and government affairs know-how to develop a consensus proposal for electronic approved labeling information and to create and carry out a strategy to implement that proposal.