Patients’ involvement in EMA’s activities in 2011

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has just published its ‘Fifth report on the interaction with patients' and consumers' organisations (2011) ‘on its website. The document provides a detailed overview of the various EMA activities where patients, consumers and their organisations have been involved during 2011. It also includes a comparison to preceding years and highlights future steps for interaction.

The report says that "the interaction with patient groups has proved to be extremely beneficial; they provide a crucial patient perspective to the scientific discussions on medicines and have helped to provide valuable insights. There is a need and expectation for public bodies to listen to the views and experiences of patients who are the ones most affected by the regulatory decisions and engaging with these stakeholders gives the Agency and the public more confidence and reassurance in its outcomes. However, the key to successful involvement is not only to consult patients, but to do so in the most appropriate manner to ensure the best use of their expertise and time.”

This collaborative interaction is also very important for patients as it allows us to engage with the EMA on issues that affect us and to share our real-life experiences. In doing so, we provide meaningful feedback which ultimately contributes to the quality of the decision-making process by bringing to light the real-life implications of regulatory decisions.

The report is available here.