EMA Collaborates with Physicians

On April 19, 2016, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) held a workshop with representatives of general practitioners and family doctors to explore ways the agency can collaborate with physicians in order to involve them with EMA activities. The goals of the physician/EMA collaboration are for EMA to gain better understanding of the real-life use and impact of medicines and for doctors to understand how they can inform regulatory discussions.

The workshop let to the creation of an expert group composed of the physician representatives, which included 20 participants from three major organizations: the European Forum for Primary Care, the European Union of General Practitioners/Family Physicians, and the World Organization of National Colleges, Academies, and Academic Associates of General Practitioners/Family Physicians Europe. The expert group will be involved in a wide range of EMA activities including providing scientific advice to drug developers, input on feasibility and impact on patients of risk minimization measures, and review of product information and dissemination of information.

“General practitioners and family physicians play a key role in patient care; they often have the first contact with the patient and accompany them throughout the life of their condition,” explained EMA’s Executive Director Guido Rasi in a press release. “This is why we want to engage them more in our activities as their knowledge and experience on how a medicine is used and addresses patient needs in real life can greatly inform our decision making.”