Information to Patients Debate 2010 – as if the Internet was still a walled garden
Being diagnosed with cancer, or experiencing a recurrence, often puts individuals and their families in an emotional roller coaster ride. Moreover, treatment decisions often need to be taken quickly. To make an informed choice between the bad and the ugly, patients desperately seek for quality information. Whilst the political debate around “information to patients” and “advertising” has been going on for years as if a walled garden would still exist, or could still be built around Internet websites, European patients continue to suffer from the lack of access to quality information while the alluring bait of miracle healers, counterfeit online pharmacies and door-to-door advertisers continues to be omnipresent. “Information to Patients” now requires new courage, commitment and real action now – the current EU political momentum on “Information to Patients” is timely and welcome.
