The FDA’s Transparency Task Force released 21 draft proposals [PDF] as part of its transparency initiative today. A just-released Perspective article in the New England Journal of Medicine [PDF] discusses the proposals.
A section of the report addresses concerns raised by AHCJ’s Right-to-Know Committee about the agency’s requirements that journalists and FDA employees notify or obtain permission from an agency official to conduct an interview. A letter sent in December to the FDA’s transparency committee, signed by AHCJ, 10 other journalism organizations and two dozen individuals, explained, “These relatively new practices hinder reporters’ ability to learn the truth by inhibiting and sometimes barring employees from providing essential information.”
From the FDA’s report on the drafted proposals:
Comments from some members of the media stated that FDA’s current procedures for dealing with the media restricted the flow of information between the public and FDA personnel. These comments stated that public affairs officials can play an important role answering questions and facilitating interviews, “[b]ut when they forbid, delay or monitor contact between reporters and employees, they interfere with the public’s right to know and can delay access to timely information necessary to protect and advance public health.” Comments stated that prior administrations allowed more communication between FDA employees and the media and that FDA’s practice is not universal among federal agencies.
A conference call was held on April 12, 2010 with representatives from the Association of Health Care Journalists and the Society of Environmental Journalists to follow-up on the comments they submitted to the Task Force. During the call, representatives provided suggestions on ways FDA can facilitate contacts with the press, including holding regular conference calls about activities at the agency, providing the press with a list of agency experts by topic area, and committing to return calls from the press within two hours. Participants stated that FDA would benefit from a written media policy. One participant noted that implementing a media policy is “harder at regulatory agencies,” such as FDA.
Given FDA’s regulatory authority and responsibility, it is very important that FDA provide information to the news media as promptly and accurately as possible. Like many other public agencies, FDA has a public affairs office to facilitate and coordinate requests from the media. On average, the public affairs office fields between 50 and 100 inquiries from journalists every day. FDA personnel may establish a record of what is discussed to improve their own understanding of issues and to identify additional information of relevance that can be shared with the journalists.
FDA plans to track and disclose measures of performance related to its interactions with the media and will start by tracking the number of press inquiries received each month. FDA will also draft a policy outlining FDA’s media process and post this policy on its Web site. FDA will continue to explore additional ways to make the Agency’s system as effective as possible.
In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services, as part of the President’s Open Government Initiative, is reviewing the media policies of various HHS agencies. FDA will participate in this process.
“We appreciate the FDA’s willingness to consider our concerns. We hope this process will lead to new policies that free the media to learn from and report on the work of federal experts – who are paid by taxpayers to serve the public,” said AHCJ president Charles Ornstein.
