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The goal of The Consumer Program is to improve the
clinical and economic value of prescription drugs by educating consumers
about sound purchasing concepts, reliable sources of drug information
and marketing practices of the pharmaceutical industry.
After a Request for Application process, the Special
Committee awarded a grant to Consumers Union with the following objectives:
- Enhance public
understanding of issues surrounding prescription drug effectiveness,
safety and side effects, and costs, and help consumers make informed
drug comparisons;
- Empower consumers
to talk with their doctors, pharmacists, and other providers about
their prescription drug choices; and
- Provide consumers
with early drug safety alerts and information about off-label use;
- Improve health
outcomes by enhancing drug compliance and treatment adherence.
The work is structured around the following five goals:
- Increase the usefulness and use of Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs by
expanding the categories and increasing the frequency of report
updates.
- Increase public awareness of prescription drug choices and value
through a social marketing campaign that aims to enhance public
understanding surrounding prescription drug effectiveness, safety,
side effects and costs, and helps consumers make informed drug
comparisons.
- Test the success of dissemination strategies to the target audiences
and through web-based technology networks.
- Enhance the content distributed by Consumer Reports on drug safety and off-label use to better educate consumers.
- Measure the impact of the use of Consumer
Reports Best Buy Drugs and specific strategies to
educate consumers about their drug choices.
Principal Investigator: Doris Peter, PhD
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