Clause 26 Relations with the Public, Including Patients and Journalists
26
- Can companies employ bloggers to talk about disease and general management techniques as long as treatments are not mentioned? How best can this be done - what should companies bear in mind?
- Can companies lobby or undertake PR activity with politicians?
- Can companies make press releases available directly to the public via social media channels and websites rather than via a Journalist?
26.1
(26.1) Prescription only medicines must not be advertised to the public. This prohibition does not apply to vaccination and other campaigns carried out by companies and approved by the health ministers.
Please check the date of the Code that applies to the Case that you are looking at. The date of the complaint may vary from the activity/material alleged to have been in breach.
26.2
(26.2) Information about prescription only medicines which is made available to the public either directly or indirectly must be factual and presented in a balanced way. It must not raise unfounded hopes of successful treatment or be misleading with respect to the safety of the product.
Statements must not be made for the purpose of encouraging members of the public to ask their health professional to prescribe a specific prescription only medicine.
- Clause 26.2 (26.2) Information to the Public
- Clause 26.2 (28.1) Website Access
- Clause 26.2 (28.5) MHRA Guidance
- Clause 26.2 (26.2) Financial Information
- Clause 26.2 (26.2) Information to Current or Prospective Employees
- Clause 26.2 (26.2) Certification of Information
- Clause 26.2 (26.2) Health Technology Assessments
Please check the date of the Code that applies to the Case that you are looking at. The date of the complaint may vary from the activity/material alleged to have been in breach.
26.3
(18.2 SI) Items for patient support made available to patients, for example, by completing a request card enclosed with a medicine, should be inexpensive, related to either the condition under treatment or general health, and must be appropriately documented and certified in advance as required by Clause 8.3. Care must be taken that any such activity meets all the requirements of the Code and in particular Clause 26.4.
Companies cannot run or sponsor competitions or quizzes for patients if prizes are offered.
26.4
(26.3) Any material which relates to a medicine and which is intended for patients taking that medicine must include the statement below or a similar one:
‘Reporting of side effects If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nurse. This includes any possible side effects not listed in the package leaflet. You can also report side effects directly via the Yellow Card Scheme at [a website address which links directly to the MHRA Yellow Card site].
By reporting side effects, you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.’
When the material relates to a medicine which is subject to additional monitoring, an inverted black equilateral triangle must be included on it together with the statement below or a similar one:
‘This medicine is subject to additional monitoring. This will allow quick identification of new safety information. You can help by reporting any side effects you may get. See [a website address which links directly to the MHRA Yellow Card site] for how to report side effects.’
Please check the date of the Code that applies to the Case that you are looking at. The date of the complaint may vary from the activity/material alleged to have been in breach.
26.5
(26.4) Requests from individual members of the public for advice on personal medical matters must be refused and the enquirer recommended to consult their own doctor, or other prescriber or other health professional.