Social Networking Helps Reverse FDA Call

Story submitted by Steve Smith, CAE, executive director / CEO of the American Academy of Hospice & Palliative Medicine.

On March 31, the FDA announced that manufacturers of 14 unapproved pain medications commonly used by palliative care physicians must cease production of said medications within 60 days. On April 9, the FDA reversed this decision due to an outpouring of complaints from the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and other groups. The swiftness of this decision reversal has been attributed to interested parties using social networks such as Twitter, Facebook - as well as conventional routes such as phone, face-to-face, email, and fax - to discuss and inform others about this and encourage them to voice their complaints.

To read more about this story click here, and to read how social networking was used, click here.