In recent correspondence, Greg Allen1 and Eric Wooltorton2 criticized the method that Health Canada used to communicate risks associated with droperidol, in particular the choice of addressees for the drug safety information letter.3 Health Canada sent its letter3 to chiefs of medical staff of all Canadian hospitals, otolaryngologists, retail pharmacies and other health associations. The letter included a request (printed in bold) that it be distributed to health care professionals in each institution, which was an attempt to ensure that the letter would reach all health care professionals who might be prescribing or dispensing injectable droperidol.
Health care professionals have a shared responsibility to acquire, communicate and incorporate new information to enable informed decision- making by patients, and these aspects of professional practice form part of provincial and territorial standards of professional practice. Nonetheless, concerns about the failure of health care professionals to read “Dear Healthcare Professional” letters and to incorporate new drug safety information into practice have been raised previously.4
Health Canada's Marketed Health Products Directorate agrees that physicians and other health care professionals must learn of any new drug safety information quickly. Recommendations arising from a workshop on this topic are posted at Health Canada's Web site.5 In addition, several strategies such as toll-free telephone and fax lines for reporting of adverse reactions and an electronic mailing list have been implemented to facilitate communication of product-related risks between Health Canada and health care providers. (Readers may subscribe to various advisory mailing lists at www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hpb-dgps/therapeut/htmleng/adr.html).
Health Canada hopes that strengthening communication with health care professionals will stimulate spontaneous reporting of adverse reactions. Partnerships with stakeholders such as consumers, health care professionals, academia, industry and government are also important, as the responsibility for communicating drug safety information and incorporating new information into practice crosses jurisdictional lines.