"Talking about drug treatments--who should say what to whom?"--the second DTB symposium

Information about medicines is as important as the quality of the medicines themselves. Without sufficient, accurate and understandable information the doctor cannot decide on the best treatment regimen to offer and ultimately the patient cannot decide what treatment to accept. The second annual Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin symposium, held in March, considered the provision of information, its production and distribution, and the legal, ethical and professional codes by which it is shaped. These issues were addressed by Ian Dodds-Smith (legal aspects), Nick Barber (pharmacy matters), Bonnie Sibbald (communication between hospital and general practice), Barbara Altounyan (the media), David Dickinson and Marianne Rigge (consumers), Gwen Parr and Justin Greenwood (the pharmaceutical industry) and Joe Collier (provision of consensus advice). The audience also made important contributions.