Director's Forum

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The Health Care Notification Network

by David B. Troxel, MD, Medical Director, Board of Governors

In an attempt to improve patient safety as related to prescription medications and other products, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has requested assistance in delivering electronic product-related patient safety notices to health care providers so that they receive them in a more timely, efficient, and effective manner. The current process, which relies on paper and the U.S. mail, is slow, expensive, and inefficient and leads to delays in notifying physicians and patients of important patient safety issues. The FDA notes that the resultant failure to inform physicians and patients of important patient safety issues in a timely fashion is a critical problem, so it is encouraging the delivery of notices online.

Over the past two years, a group of medical societies, liability carriers, and other groups have formed the iHealth Alliance, a not-for-profit corporation with goals that include improving patient safety using electronic means. The American Medical Association, a leader in this area, is also participating. The iHealth Alliance has worked with the FDA, manufacturers, medical societies, and others to create a network for delivering patient safety notifications to providers online that will fulfill FDA regulations and make the delivery timely, effective, and efficient for physicians. Key aspects of the Health Care Notification Network (HCNN) include the following:

1. It is free to physicians. (Their e-mail addresses will be used only for patient safety notifications, not for marketing purposes—no lists will be sold to or used by third parties.)
2. Physicians will receive the notices days to weeks ahead of current paper/U.S. mail–based notifications.
3. Physicians can identify additional e-mail recipients for office staff who should also receive these notices.
4. The funding for the HCNN comes from user fees paid by manufacturers.
5. Providers can opt out of the HCNN at any time.

The HCNN will provide rapid online communication with physicians for FDA-mandated product recalls and warnings to replace the existing paper notifications sent via U.S. mail. Physicians not enrolled in the HCNN or those who enroll but do not open their e-mail notifications will be notified via standard mail. Physicians can elect to have other practice staff members notified via e-mail to increase efficiency. Practices can also forward notifications via e-mail to their patients and post them on their Web sites.

The iHealth Alliance will also be working with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on the appropriate use of the HCNN for national public health emergencies, and the CDC has been offered a liaison seat on the iHealth Alliance board similar to the FDA’s liaison participation. It is hoped that, in the near future, CDC public health messages and bioterrorism alerts as well as manufacturer patient safety notices will be added to the HCNN.

The Doctors Company endorses the HCNN because we believe that facilitating medication compliance and disseminating FDA product recalls and warnings have the potential to reduce malpractice claims— and, ultimately, decrease malpractice insurance premiums. I am asking our insured physicians to enroll in the HCNN and receive their FDA-related patient safety notifications online. We will be providing you with specific instructions for HCNN enrollment in the near future. The instructions will be available on our Web site, via fax, or by calling our toll-free number.

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