FDA, Drugs.com collaborate to expand online distribution of Agency's consumer health information

FDA Announces Collaboration with Drugs.comGoal is to expand online distribution of Agency's consumer health information

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that it will collaborate with the Web site Drugs.com to expand access to the FDA's consumer health information.

Drugs.com seeks to provide patients with information to better manage their own health care and to assist in the reduction of medication errors. It attracts more than 12 million unique visitors each month.

"The FDA's partnership with Drugs.com means that reliable, useful, and timely health information will be available to an even wider audience," said Beth Martino, the FDA's associate commissioner for external affairs. "Partnerships like this are an important part of the FDA's effort to ensure the public has easy access to reliable, useful information that can help people protect and improve their health."

The FDA's partnership with Drugs.com will provide consumers with a joint resource on the Drugs.com site featuring FDA Consumer Update articles, videos, and slideshows. The partnership will also provide access to FDA health information on Drugs.com's mobile phone platform.

"We are very excited about partnering with the FDA to provide consumers with public health and safety information on our site as well as our mobile phone platform," said Philip Thornton, CEO of Drugs.com.

The complete terms and components of the partnership with Drugs.com are described in a Memorandum of Understanding published in the May 26, 2010, Federal Register and available online at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-12638.pdf.

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