News item | 08-12-2022 | 16:37
Drugs get better understandable drug information through the use of uniform pictograms. This has been agreed by Minister Ernst Kuipers (Health, Welfare and Sport) with the Medicines Evaluation Board and parties involved in providing information on medicines, such as pharmaceutical companies and pharmacists. A uniform icon set is being developed, which explains the use of medication in a compact, recognizable and understandable way. This should lead to a better understanding of information about medicines for patients.
Minister Kuipers: “I think it is very important that people are aware of the medicines they use, and that they know how to use them. Pictograms can help with this because they are recognisable, clear and unambiguous. This helps people better understand the drug information and thus make better use of medicines.”
Drug information
From research is It has become clear that many people do not read or do not understand the information about their medicines, such as the package insert. Important information can be made clear in other ways besides text. For example, by using icons.
However, at the moment different icon sets are used in drug information. As a result, the user of a drug has to learn the meaning of the icons over and over again. A new, uniform icon set contributes to greater understanding, better and safer use of medicines and greater adherence to therapy.
The Netherlands is the first country in Europe to take an initiative to develop a uniform pictogram set. The Netherlands will also draw attention to the importance of this in discussions in Europe.