APA Applauds AMA for Joining Its Call for Registry of Clinical Drug Trials, Outcomes 6/16/2004
From: Jason Young of American Psychiatric Association, 703-907-8582, 202-669-5929 (mobile), or jyoung@psych.org; Web: site: http://www.psych.org WASHINGTON, June 16 -- The American Psychiatric Association (APA) applauds the vote by the American Medical Association's House of Delegates yesterday to call on the federal government to develop a registry of all clinical drug trials and their outcomes. The APA and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) sponsored the initial resolution in the hopes of increasing access to data from the trials, especially those with negative or unpublished findings. "Physicians and patients need and deserve access to as much information as possible in order to make fully informed decisions about treatment options," said David Fassler, M.D., an APA trustee and an American Medical Association (AMA) delegate. "Establishing a national registry of clinical trials would facilitate open scientific dialogue, enhance the quality of research, and ultimately improve patient care." The action specifically calls on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the agency that oversees the Food and Drug Administration, to establish a comprehensive, publicly available database of all clinical drug trials, requiring that the trials be registered at their outset. The AMA endorsed the APA/AACAP- sponsored initiative at its annual meeting in Chicago. To view the APA/AACAP-sponsored resolution (514-A-03), visit: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/upload/mm/annual03/e514a03.doc To obtain a copy of the report (CSA Report 10-A-04) written by the AMA's Council on Scientific Affairs in response to the resolution, contact Jason Young, communications manager for the APA's Department of Government Relations, at 703-907-8582 or jyoung@psych.org. --- The American Psychiatric Association is a national medical specialty society, founded in 1844, whose 35,000 physician members specialize in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental illnesses including substance use disorders. For more information, visit the APA Web site: http://www.psych.org. |