Webinar today looks at issues around prescription drugs and women

A free webinar, “The Push to Prescribe: Women & Canadian Drug Policy”, will run today on how drugs are produced, regulated and marketed and how that affects women.

Presented by York’s National Network on Environments & Women’s Health and the Canadian Women’s Health Network, the webinar will feature the co-editor of The Push to Prescribe (Women’s Press, 2009) Anne Rochon Ford, along with contributors Colleen Fuller and Abby Lippman, presenting key issues from the book and respond to questions from participants.

Fuller, co-founder of PharmaWatch, a blog about prescription drug safety, will discuss the reporting of adverse drug reactions. She will examine what can happen after new drugs have been approved and are in use in the real world, as opposed to the restricted world of clinical trials.

An epidemiologist, Lippman will put drug trials on trial when she talks about women and the testing of drugs. She will look at what information is used in reviewing new drugs for approval decisions, expanding her critique to question the context in which drug approvals occur and the assumptions that are made.

Drugs are produced, regulated, marketed and used in ways that affect many aspects of everyday life. The nature and extent of these effects and their special meaning for women, are at the core of the The Push to Prescribe.

The webinar will take place from 3 to 4pm and is open to the public. Access to a computer with a high-speed Internet connection and speakers (or a headset) will be needed to take part.

To register, e-mail info@cwhn.ca. Note that space is limited. Send any questions you might have about this issue with the registration request. 

For more information on The Push to Prescribe, visit the National Network on Environments & Women’s Health Web site.