Each year, hundreds of thousands of patients become drug injury victims or are harmed by defective medical devices. Most experts agree that more transparency within the medical field is one of the best ways to reduce the number of adverse health events patients suffer due to negligence or error. This is why the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched a new database known as OpenFDA.
Officials say the database, which currently holds more than 3 million documents, gives the public access to reports and records regarding incidents of patient harm. While OpenFDA is still in it’s testing phase, many believe the information provided will lead to faster action being taken when problems with specific medical products are identified.
The new system will also create a more efficient means for data to be analyzed by researchers, providing a greater insight into focused areas of medicine.
At Ferrer Poirot Feller Daniel, our drug injury attorneys are excited about the FDA’s new system and are hopeful that it’s successful in providing a greater scope of information about the medical industry to the American people.